Smoke from Brahmapuram fire reaches Alappuzha; fire to be doused today, says Minister

Kochi: The toxic smoke from the Brahmapuram has reached Aroor in Alappuzha district on Monday as authorities failed to douse the fire at the solid waste plant here for the fifth consecutive day.

Though the fire is under control, giant plumes of smoke continue to rise from the Brahmapuram waste plant as hundreds of firefighters, including Naval personnel, battle to extinguish the fire.

Industries Minister P Rajeeve on Monday informed the Kerala Assembly that the fire would be extinguished soon and that it was under control. Though the Minister had assured that the fire would be doused by Sunday evening, it continued to smoulder on Monday.

Meanwhile, Opposition Leader VD Satheesan alleged that the fire at Brahmapuram was intentionally set. He demanded a probe by High Court judge to find the culprits.

Smoke continues to pose threat

A senior police officer said that the fire appeared to be extinguished, but huge amounts of smoke was still rising from the site and therefore, it may not have been quelled completely.

Aerial visuals of the site aired on various channels showed huge and thick plumes of smoke billowing from the site which appeared to be completely ravaged by the fire.

Meanwhile, the district administration declared Monday as a holiday for Anganwadis, kindergartens, day care centres and children of classes 1 to 7 of government, aided, unaided, CBSE and ICSE schools located in Kochi city and neighbouring gram panchayats and municipalities.

Kerala Industries Minister P Rajeeve had on Sunday said that the fire was under control. He and State Health Minister Veena George said that the smoke due to the blaze was not a matter of concern.

Their announcements came while speaking to reporters after a high-level meeting at the Ernakulam District Collectorate here.

They said that people need not stay indoors as recommended on Saturday and can move out by taking precautions, like wearing N95 masks.

However, those with breathing problems, like asthma, the elderly, children and pregnant women should try and avoid getting exposed to the smoke and should wear masks if going out, the Ministers said.

Earlier in the day, a fire officer engaged in the fire-fighting at the waste plant said it was taking time to quell the flames as there were layers of plastic underneath which got heated up and prevented the fire at the top from cooling down.

Lack of rains and wind also played spoilsport against the fire-fighting efforts and there was a second instance of a fire breaking out during the operations.

In addition to all these, the phosgene gas generated by the fire is leading to nausea, dizziness among the firefighters which also affected operations.

The fire broke out in the waste dumped at the plant on Thursday. Officials had maintained that such incidents happen every year around this time due to the extreme heat.

(With PTI inputs.)