Forensic and fingerprint experts who carried out inquiry at the West Hill Material Collection Facility (MCF) are yet to come to any conclusion regarding the cause of the recent fire breakout there. The Vellayil police are investigating the case based on the complaint filed by Kozhikode Corporation Secretary K.U. Bini. Officials from the Forensic department and the District Electrical Inspectorate have gathered evidence from the spot.
“The investigation is progressing based on the findings of various forensic teams. We have not yet been able to pinpoint the reason behind the fire,” police sources said.
It was on Sunday morning that a massive fire broke out at the Kozhikode Corporation’s Material Collection Facility at West Hill. The centre was overloaded with piles of non-biodegradable waste collected by the Haritha Karma Sena for more than six months, ever since the Corporation’s contract with Konari Advanced Polymers ended in March. The contract was renewed only in August. The waste collected as part of the massive clean-up drive in connection with Gandhi Jayanti was added to the pile of refuse. Besides, years-old legacy waste had also been accumulated in a nearby plot.
The fire department has ruled out short circuit as the reason for the blaze since the building did not have power connection for the past two months. The possibility of combustion was also ruled out since the fire started amid neatly stacked bags of plastic with no trace of organic matter in them. District Fire Officer K.M. Asharaf Ali has submitted a report on the initial findings to the District Collector in which he has suggested the need for scientific investigation in this matter. “By the time we reached the spot, a large portion had already been burnt. So we could not determine the source of fire. It is hard to tell if the pile was deliberately set on fire,” Mr. Asharaf Ali said.
