Kochi, March 5: Giant plumes of toxic smoke continued to rise from the Brahmapuram waste plant here on Sunday evening as hundreds of firefighters, including Naval personnel, battled to bring the blaze that has gone on for four days under control.
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.
Earlier in the day, Kerala Industries Minister P Rajeeve said that the fire was under control and would hopefully be extinguished by evening.
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.
George also said hospital records of the city do not indicate any medical cases due to the smoke.
Nevertheless, arrangements, like dedicated beds for those affected by the smoke generated due to the fire, have been made in all government hospitals and medical colleges in the city.
Besides, two oxygen parlours and a round the clock medical team of doctors have been put in place in Brahmapuram.
Regarding the decisions taken in the meeting, Rajeeve said that all stakeholders were of the view that there needs to be a coordinated effort to deal with such situations. In lieu of that, it was decided to put in place a system comprising a coordination committee of representatives from the Kochi Corporation, fire services, police, health services, electricity board and fire safety officials of Bharat Petroleum and CIAL. (PTI)
