A delegation comprising people’s representatives from local bodies and officials from the Pollution Control Board, the village office, and BPCL-KR visited the households at Ayyankuzhi on Friday to assess whether they were fit for living.
| Photo Credit: THULASI KAKKAT
A committee of people’s representatives and officials on Friday (July 11, 2025) visited houses at Ayyankuzhi in the immediate neighbourhood of the Bharat Petroleum Limited-Kochi Refinery (BPCL-KR) campus near Ambalamugal to asses whether they were fit for living.
Residents were evacuated from the houses following the fire on Tuesday (July 8, 2025). A meeting chaired by the District Collector had asked the committee comprising an engineer of the Pollution Control Board (PCB), grama panchayat health inspector, village officer, and BPCL-KR representatives to submit a report within two days after visiting the households. The committee members visited the households in the presence of residents who continued to stay at a temporary accommodation at Chottanikkara.
“We have collected samples to analyse the air quality inside the houses. A report will be submitted to the Collector based on the analysis result, which, though, may take some time. Prima facie, the situation seems to have improved from the time of the fire notwithstanding a slight odour,” said PCB sources.
Sonia Murukesan, Vadavucode-Puthencruz panchayat president, said the visit was primarily to assess whether there was any issue in the houses, which had remained closed for a couple of days. She added the smell from burnt plastic seemed to linger.
The Collector’s meeting had also appointed another committee led by K. Manoj, Deputy Collector (Disaster Management), comprising the BPCL-KR security officer, electrical inspector, and KSEB officials to inquire and submit a report on what triggered the fire. The committee was asked to submit the report within three days.
Besides, the Deputy Collector (Disaster Management), hazard analyst, and the company’s disaster management plan coordinator were asked to review the company’s disaster management action plan and recommend changes, if any required, within a week. The Collector also assured the affected families that a high-level meeting would be convened at the earliest to look into the their demand that their land be acquired.
Published – July 11, 2025 08:52 pm IST
