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Koottupatha waste cleanup in final phase; 83 % waste cleared
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The Government General Hospital (GGH) in Vijayawada where a street dog reportedly ran away an amputated limb kept for disposal in the biomedical waste room. | The dog, which picked up the amputated limb of a patient from the biomedical waste room, allegedly took it outside a couple of days ago. An outsourcing employee of the GGH reportedly recorded the incident on his mobile phone and shared the video footage on social media groups.Suspecting foul play, the GGH officials who conducted the inquiry, questioned why the employee took video instead of alerting the staff concerned.No CCTVMeanwhile, there is no CCTV near the biomedical waste room. “The operation theatre staff handover the biomedical waste to the sanitary staff, who then dump it in the waste room and lock it. However, it is unclear how the dog entered the room and picked up the plastic bag containing the waste,” said a medical officer.“The biomedical waste room is always kept locked. We are inquiring why the room was left unlocked,” the doctor said. Meanwhile, GGH staff claim that there have been internal disputes within the hospital. Some outsourcing staff might have conspired in the incident, they alleged.Speaking to The Hindu, GGH Superintendent Dr. A. Yedukondalu said that the maintenance of biomedical waste room has been handed over to a private agency. “Instructions have been given to install surveillance cameras in the room and to follow a foolproof system for storing and disposing the waste,” the Superintendent said.“We are also inquiring why there was no security at the biomedical waste room when the incident happened,” Dr. Yedukondalu said. Published - May 17, 2026 07:12 pm IST
Minority Welfare Minister N. Md. Farooq and Collector Rajakumari Ganiya inaugurating the Waste Plastic Exchange Centre in Nandyal town on Saturday. | SUBRAMANYAM Nandyal district administration has launched a novel initiative of people getting essential commodities in exchange for plastic waste. This is part of the efforts of the district administration to put a check on the use of plastic and achieve the ‘Clean Nandyal’ goal.Minority Welfare Minister N. Md. Farooq and District Collector Rajakumari Ganiya inaugurated a ‘Waste Plastic Exchange Centre’ in the town as part of the ‘Swarna Andhra-Swachh Andhra’ programme on Saturday. The citizens can deposit plastic waste at the centre and get essential commodities in exchange.Citizens who deposit 1 kg of plastic at the centre will receive either 1 kg of sugar or 1 kg of vermicelli or six eggs as an incentive, Mr Farooq said, adding that the initiative would also help the poor who collect garbage such as plastic and paper.Burning plastic covers or dumping them in open spaces will lead to severe environmental damage, the Minister said. Mr. Farooq and Ms. Ganiya also took part in a sanitation drive in the Gandhi Chowk market area.Expressing concern over drainage canals getting clogged, he warned that surveillance would be maintained using CCTV cameras and fines would be imposed against those who dump garbage indiscriminately into drains.The Collector said that 16 phases of the programme, each focusing on various themes, have been organised, and the 17th phase is focused on the checking the single-use plastic. Published - May 16, 2026 07:58 pm IST
Proposal cleared for constructing groynes using tetrapods from Valiathura to Shanghumughom as part of efforts to contain coastal erosion along the southern coastline. The Water Resources department has cleared a proposal for constructing groynes using tetrapods from Valiathura to Shanghumughom as part of the efforts to contain coastal erosion along the southern coastline.The department, through a May 5, 2026 order, has cleared a ₹7-crore estimate for the work which also includes ‘reformation’ of the seawall in the area. The department has cleared the proposal on the basis of a detailed project report submitted by the Chief Engineer, Irrigation and Administration. This was also one of the projects proposed in the district during the Nava Kerala Sadas organised by the Left Democratic Front government.The Water Resources department has directed Superintending Engineers to accurately fix the deadline for the works and prepare an implementation schedule to complete them on time.In terms of coastal erosion, the Valiathura-Shanghumughom stretch has been listed as one of the worst-hit in Thiruvananthapuram district.Residents’ demandGiven the intensity of erosion along vulnerable stretches of the coast, coastal residents have been demanding protective measures such as seawalls.At the same time, studies have blamed unscientifically constructed ‘hard structures’—seawalls, groynes and harbours—for aggravating coastal erosion. In June 2021, an independent review (Seashore Erosion in Kerala: Review and Recommendations) by serving and retired scientists from the University of Kerala and the National Centre for Earth Science Studies had advised the government to instead adopt ‘living seashore’ models. Their advice was based on the conclusion that existing breakwater and seawall constructions have only served to worsen erosion. Published - May 11, 2026 08:51 pm IST
People stand in a queue to cast their vote, at a polling booth during Phase 2 voting of West Bengal Assembly Elections 2026 in Kolkata on April 29, 2026. | 47% in the second and final phase of polling for the West Bengal Assembly election on Wednesday (April 29, 2026), amidst isolated incidents of unrest and violence. This means the total turnout across two phases of polling in the State stands at 92.83%, the highest rate of polling in any West Bengal Assembly election since Independence, according to the State’s Chief Electoral Officer.In the second phase, polling was held in 142 Assembly seats spread across seven districts in south Bengal. The highest polling rates were recorded in the rural-dominated areas of Purba Bardhaman (93.39%), followed by the Hooghly (91.41%), South 24 Parganas (91.45%), North 24 Parganas (91.39 %), and Nadia (91.35%) districts. Published - April 29, 2026 09:33 pm IST
Biomining of the legacy waste taking place at Koottupatha dumpsite in Kodumbu panchayat. The decades-old waste mounds at Koottupatha, accumulated since the 1960s, are now in the final phase of clearance. The Kerala Solid Waste Management Project (KSWMP) aims to complete biomining before the onset of the monsoon, enabling the reclamation of about 8.5 acres of land.KSWMP officials said that 76,082.40 cubic metres of solid waste were processed so far, accounting for 83% of the total 92,284 cubic metres of legacy waste accumulated over decades. The Koottupatha dumpsite in Kodumbu grama panchayat has received waste from Palakkad municipality since 1960. Published - April 29, 2026 08:34 pm IST
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