Brahmapuram plant was in news when a massive fire had broken out there on March 2 and thereafter, the air quality in the port city of Kochi and neighbouring municipalities and gram panchayats had worsened as they were engulfed in the dense smoke billowing from the garbage dump. Brahmapuram Fire: Days After Major Blaze, Waste Treatment Plant in Kochi Catches Fire Again (Watch Video).
Kerala Civil Defence is a group of trained volunteers, who step in to help the Fire and Rescue Services department, simply out of social commitment and without any remuneration.
Solid waste management in this country or across the world is a goldmine for waste contractors and the supporting system consisting of the bureaucracy, politicians and anti-social elements.
The Brahmapuram fire should not be seen as an exception but rather as a periodic occurrence that represents the toxicity of improper management activities and government neglect.