Hospital waste burnt in the open near Government Medical College

KOCHI: Huge quantities of medical waste including syringes and bottles are being burnt in the open near the Cancer Centre OP block at Government Medical College, Kalamassery. The authorities started burning the waste after the incinerator facility at the hospital became defunct. Earlier, medical waste was transported to the Indian Medical Association’s common biomedical waste treatment and disposal facility at Palakkad which has been stopped now.

Though Rs 8 lakh has been allocated to replace the defunct incinerator, steps are yet to be taken to procure the facility. Meanwhile, Medical College principal Dr. V.K. Sreekala said that medical waste is not being burnt in the open and the new incinerator will be set up at the earliest.