Kochi: Residents of Township ward in Eloor municipality complained of suffocation and discomfort after a huge cloud of smoke which emanated from burning of debris of film set constructed for the movie Guruvayoor Ambalanadayil engulfed the area on Wednesday. The mounds of waste included materials made of plastic, thermocol and plywood. Eloor fire and rescue station officials said that they received the alert around 6 pm.
'' We received complaints of heavy smoke clouding the area following burning of waste on a plot of land owned by FACT at Township ward. Since the materials were soggy, it didn't burn properly and smoke was being emanated covering the entire area. We used an earth mover to spread out the debris and water was sprayed to douse the smoke. The process was completed within two hours,'' a fire force official said.
A D Sujil, Chairman of Eloor Municipality said that burning of plastic waste in open places is a violation of Municipality act and penalty will be levied. '' We have taken it up with FACT estate authorities where the waste was burnt. A notice will be served on FACT authorities. Also, they have told us that those who burnt the waste have been identified and municipality will penalise them,'' he said.
The residents initially alerted the Municipality authorities. '' We have been dealing with this issue for the last 2-3 days. On Wednesday, smoke was causing so much inconvenience and public raised health concerns. Fire force was summoned and smoke was brought under control,'' said Gopinath P B, councillor of Township ward.
The movie makers had recreated the Guruvayoor Sri Krishna temple on a property owned by the Fertilisers And Chemicals Travancore Ltd (FACT)
It is learnt that the workers burnt the first heap of garbage despite objections raised by residents. The incident, which occurred on Wednesday afternoon, caused widespread distress in the community, with many locals suffering from respiratory discomfort.
St Anne's School, located nearby, was closed on Wednesday. Firefighting units from Aluva, Thrikkarara, North Paravur, Gandhinagar and Eloor were deployed to extinguish the fire. 'Guruvayoor Ambalanadayil' directed by Vipin Das, starring Prithviraj Sukumaran and Basil Joseph in the lead, was released recently on OTT after a successful run in theatres.