Kochi BPCL fire: 23 families trapped between two major industrial units face daily peril

For 23 families sandwiched on a strip of 9.4 acres between two major public sector units – Hindustan Organic Chemicals Limited (HOCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) Kochi Refinery (KR) – at Ayyankuzhi near Ambalamugal, Kochi, Kerala, the fire incident on Tuesday (June 8, 2025) evening was another stark reminder of their perilous existence.

Left to suffer air, noise, and water pollution, the incident in which many residents were left dizzy and nauseated by thick fumes and a pungent odour after the Kerala State Electricity Board’s (KSEB) underground 220kV cables from the Brahmapuram substation, passing through the BPCL-KR campus, went up in flames — was just the latest chapter in their ongoing plight.

The incident came close on the heels of a regional review meeting chaired by the Chief Minister in Kottayam on July 3 where the plight of Ayyankuzhi residents was discussed and based on which, the District Collector was set to hold a discussion with them.

Single entry and exit

It all started in the 80s when the acquisition for HOCL started. By the time the acquisition was completed, the number of families dropped from over 100 and those left were walled off from two sides. Later, in the 90s, when the acquisition for the second phase for the second phase of BPCL was completed, the remaining families were sandwiched between two major industrial units and left with a single entry and exit.

“Till then, we had two buses operating in the route, drinking water supply lines, an anganwadi and a school in the neighbourhood that was less than a kilometre away. We were stripped of those facilities once the BPCL acquisition was over, and in order to access the school, the students had to take a more circuitous route,” said Saji Kumar, 54, who was born and brought up at Ayyankuzhi. He is an office-bearer of Janakeeya Samithi

Since then, many have either moved out either for rent or with their children settled elsewhere, while the more well-off have moved out permanently. Mr. Kumar rued how the families left are unable to sell their land owing to the pollution. Even those who come forward desperate to find a plot of their own, only offer dirt cheap price.

The thick flumes and pungent odour that triggered panic on Tuesday evening was nothing new to the local residents. Last year, Ayyankuzhi Janakeeya Samithi staged a protest that lasted nearly 150 days against pollution threats. They also complained of “unbearable noise” from a newly installed plant.

In between, the families approached the Kerala High Court. At the court’s instance, the Kerala State Pollution Control Board carried out a study in the area between December 4, 2024 and January 3, 2025 which found exceeding levels of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) and noise at Ayyankuzhi.

The regional office of the board also filed a report dated April 29, 2025 based on the findings before the Southern Bench of the National Green Tribunal in the case related to the petition filed by the local residents.

Even before, the board had found Ayyankuzhi “a red zone area”, unfit for inhabitation.