A dispute between Kochi corporation health department officials and members of the Haritha Karma Sena (HKS) has stalled waste collection in the Gandhi Nagar division for the past several days. Although waste was collected by afternoon, tensions remain unresolved.
HKS Members' Grievances
According to HKS members, the garbage they collect should be loaded onto trucks by workers deployed by the corporation. However, local body officials argue that loading is the responsibility of HKS members themselves. The disruption in waste removal sparked protests from local residents against corporation authorities.
An HKS member from the Gandhi Nagar division explained the situation: "Usually, we collect garbage from households and transport it to the collection point. Our team consists of 12 women, most of whom are elderly. When regular trucks arrive, we load the waste ourselves. But on Monday, the corporation sent a refuse compactor truck, which is much taller. For such large vehicles, corporation-deployed workers should handle loading because the older women in our team are unable to do so." She added, "On Monday, the corporation did not send workers to load the waste. Since it was a difficult task, we requested corporation authorities to deploy their workers."
Corporation's Stance
Corporation officials maintain that it is the HKS members' duty to load waste into trucks. However, an official from the corporation's health wing stated, "We heeded their demands on Monday and provided corporation workers to load the waste. A final decision will be made on Tuesday." HKS members also allege that the corporation is not providing adequate trucks for waste transportation.
