A day after announcing a budget eatery proposal named Indira Canteen, which irked the Opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF), who saw it as a ploy to undermine its Samridhi@Kochi, its budget hotel project, Mayor V.K. Minimol accused the LDF of misleading the public about the real state of affairs at Brahmapuram, the seat of waste management projects.
After visiting Brahmapuram with a media contingent in tow, Ms. Minimol on Wednesday (January 14, 2026) sought to highlight multiple issues — pending biomining of a large volume of legacy waste, accumulated food waste, soggy nature of the land reclaimed through biomining, and the less-than-ideal state of black soldier fly (BSF) plants.
Former Mayor M. Anilkumar dubbed this an attempt to sabotage the existing functional system at Brahmapuram and politicise a sensitive issue ahead of the Assembly elections. “Biomining of almost 90% of legacy waste has been completed, and the remaining portion, mostly food waste, is not dangerous as plastic has been completely removed. The soggy nature of the reclaimed land points to the effectiveness of biomining, as it means even waste buried under the soil has been removed. The proximity to Kadambrayar is another reason for flooding during high tide,” he said.
When in Opposition, the UDF never cooperated with biomining. They also opposed BSF plants, the effectiveness of which has been universally accepted. And, if they now want to amend the Brahmapuram master plan, despite being part of its unanimous approval just six months ago, then so be it, Mr. Anilkumar added.
V.A. Sreejith, LDF Parliamentary Party leader in the Corporation, said what needed to be analysed in an unbiased manner was whether the situation in Brahmapuram had vastly improved compared to when the LDF inherited it from the UDF in 2020. “We never claimed that biomining had been completed. We have always said it is an ongoing process. The compressed biogas plant is meant for the treatment of food waste. So, if there is a mountain of food waste, then they better commission the plant,” he said.
Mr. Sreejith further took a dig at the UDF and the newly elected works standing committee chairperson T.K. Asharaf, who, incidentally, was the health standing committee chairperson during the LDF council’s term. “If the UDF needs further clarification on Brahmapuram, they may ask Mr. Asharaf. After all, he presided over the health standing committee for the past five years,” he said. Mr. Asharaf was also part of the UDF delegation that visited Brahmapuram.
Published – January 14, 2026 08:14 pm IST
