Four held for waste dumping

KOCHI: The City Shadow Police, in the wee hours of Thursday, arrested four persons and took into custody a tanker lorry carrying septic waste on the charges of disposing the waste in a public place. The accused, Nisar (42), Prakashan (49), Rathnam (39) and Vinayan were caught red-handed when they were disposing septic waste near Oberon Mall in Edappally at around 2.15 am on Thursday. The accused were later handed over to the Palarivattom police.Police sources said that this was the third such instance in the week. “Two days ago, we caught two septic tankers which were trying to dispose the waste in public places. We thought that would be a good lesson for the others. But it seems that these people never learn,” they said. “Every time a tanker collects septic waste, they charge Rs 2000. Instead of disposing it off properly, these drivers dispose it off wherever they can under the cover of night,” they added.Police also said that they will strengthen night patrolling and will despatch officers in mufti to look out for those who dispose waste in public places and water bodies. “It has also been noticed that there are teams of anti-social elements who chase and block these tankers lorries and demand money. If they are not paid, they create a ruckus to attract the attention of the nearby residents and accuse the tankers of trying to dispose off the septic waste in the area. Such a gang was also caught a few days back. We will be on the look out for such gangs too,” said police.