Kerala begins removal of biomedical waste illegally dumped in Tamil Nadu
Chennai: The Kerala government has initiated the removal of illegally dumped biomedical waste in Tamil Nadu's Tirunelveli district, with four individuals arrested for their alleged involvement in the dumping. The operation follows a directive from the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which ordered the removal of the waste within three days.
Approximately 16 truckloads of biomedical waste, including blood samples and other hazardous materials, were dumped across five villages in Tirunelveli. The illegal disposal has raised significant environmental and public health concerns, including the risk of infectious disease outbreaks and contamination of soil and water sources.
The hazardous waste is suspected to have originated from Kerala hospitals, including the Thiruvananthapuram Regional Cancer Centre and Credence Hospital. Environmentalists have questioned whether these institutions adhere to mandatory biomedical waste management protocols.
The incident has also sparked political controversy in Tamil Nadu. The opposition criticised the ruling DMK government, alleging inaction against illegal dumping. In response, the DMK accused the previous AIADMK government of allowing such practices and highlighted its efforts to monitor and address the issue.
The waste clearance, which began on Sunday, continues under the joint supervision of officials from Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
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SC refuses urgent hearing of plea challenging MCD notification on picking of stray dogs
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Thursday refused urgent listing of a plea challenging a notification issued by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi with regard to picking up of stray dogs.
A bench of Justices J K Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi declined to accord urgent hearing after a lawyer mentioned that an application has been filed in this regard.
The application submitted that MCD issued the notification despite orders having been reserved by the apex court.
The whole problem of stray dogs in Delhi-NCR is because of "inaction" of local authorities, the top court had said on August 14 while reserving its order on the interim prayer seeking a stay on the August 11 directions passed by the apex court.
A three-judge bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and N V Anjaria had reserved its order in the matter.
A two-judge bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan had on August 11 directed authorities in Delhi-NCR to start picking up stray dogs from all localities "at the earliest" and relocate the animals to dog shelters.
The bench had directed the authorities to immediately create dog shelters and report to it about the creation of such infrastructure within eight weeks.
It had said stray dogs would be detained in shelters and not be released on streets, colonies or public places.
The apex court had passed a slew of directions on August 11 while hearing a suo motu case initiated on July 28 over stray dog bites leading to rabies, particularly among children, in the national capital.
