Brahmapuram waste plant fire; efforts on to extinguish douse: officials

The Kerala government on Saturday held a meeting and decided to explore a flooding approach to extinguish the ongoing fire which broke at the Brahmapuram waste plant in Ernakulam District on Thursday, an official statement said.

It added that the meeting chaired by the Chief Secretary discussed the ongoing efforts and options available for extinguishing the fire.

The meeting on the ongoing Brahmapuram fire incident was attended by senior officers of the government of Kerala, and other state and Central agencies.

"The ongoing efforts and options available for extinguishing the fire were discussed. The meeting decided to explore a flooding approach to extinguish the fire at the earliest," the statement added.

During the meeting, "It was also decided to advise the public in the area to take steps to avoid the pollution, including staying indoors on March 5 (Sunday) as much as possible. All hospitals are also advised to prepare to handle any increase in cases of respiratory difficulties or other health issues".The meeting also decided to expedite the bio-mining being undertaken of the large quantities of unsegregated legacy waste at the site leading to the fires. Other measures including enhanced monitoring of the site to prevent future fires and to respond quickly in case of fires shall also be implemented, it added.

Addressing a press conference on Friday, the Ernakulam District Collector Dr Renu Raj said, "The residents of Brahmapuram and nearby areas should avoid going out on Sunday as much as possible as the smoke cannot be controlled. Stay at home as much as possible. Shops and establishments shall be closed. This is as per the instructions of the Health Department Secretary"

Following the incident, the rescue operation was started under which over 5000 litres of water were sprayed in active fire zones.

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In addition to the defence fire tenders on the ground, aerial firefighting is also being carried out using large Area Aerial Liquid Dispersal Eqpt by naval ALH, the Southern Naval Command said on Friday. She said that although the fire has been brought under control, the smoke is rising from under the garbage dump. Vigorous efforts are ongoing to fully control it, and more fire units will be deployed for this purpose.