The World Bank has offered its expertise and financial assistance to Kerala to manage waste accumulated in towns and cities across the southern state, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Tuesday.

Vijayan met World Bank officials at his office here and discussed the issue in the wake of a recent fire that occurred at the waste treatment plant of Cochin Corporation at Brahmapuram.

In a social media post, the Chief Minister said a drone survey will be conducted at all the waste collection centres in the state in association with the World Bank.

"Had a fruitful interaction with the @WorldBank delegation which has offered its expertise and finances in support of GoK's comprehensive waste management drive. Let's work together towards a cleaner and greener Kerala!" Vijayan tweeted.

He said the World Bank has assured financial assistance and technical expertise considering the seriousness of the fire at the Brahmapuram plant.

"The World bank team has informed that they were ready to conduct a fire audit at the waste collection centres and treatment plants across the state after the drone survey and agreed to provide further assistance," Vijayan said in a Facebook post.

The World Bank assured the assistance of experts from the International Solid Waste Association, he said.

Brahmapuram plant caught fire on March 2 and continued to rage till March 12 when the fire service officials and the district authorities managed to douse it. The toxic smoke had spread to various parts of the city and surrounding municipalities causing difficulties to the local residents and worsened the air quality.

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