The Hindu : Lack of yard hits garbage disposal at Pallavaram

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Dec 17, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu-Chennai

Lack of yard hits garbage disposal at Pallavaram

By K. Manikandan

CHENNAI DEC. 16 . The Pallavaram municipality today finds itself `isolated'. Its civic workers are forced to dump garbage at just any place they can find as the neighbouring municipalities, Alandur and Tambaram, refuse to let them to use their dumping yards.

In the absence of a designated dumping yard, the problem of garbage disposal in Pallavaram has become so acute that during the peak of the rainy season, garbage was left to become rancid in the streets with no collection being done for a couple of days at a stretch. Authorities recalled that they were permitted to use the Alandur municipality's yard at Pallikaranai for a while. It was later discontinued following objections from various quarters, including government agencies.

Same was the case with another neighbouring municipality— Tambaram. Caught between pressure from residents to clear garbage and protest by the public against dumping in the vicinity, the officials were forced to resort to dumping garbage wherever they could.

They confessed that some weeks ago, they were literally chased away by local residents when they tried to dump refuse adjacent to a burial ground. "What to do with our truck loads of garbage and where do we dump it", asked Dhan Singh, Municipal Chairman, adding that he was helpless.

During a municipal meeting in October, the councillors adopted a resolution for pursuing with the State Government for establishing a dumping yard at Venkatamangalam in the city fringes. Mr. Dhan Singh said he approached the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board and completed the formalities and was hopeful the project would take off soon.

However, the councillors and residents were not impressed. Recalling that they had passed a similar resolution last year for setting up a compost yard at Naduveerapattinam in the Sriperumbudur taluk, the councillors said it would take a long time for the latest resolution to have any positive effect. They also felt the Government was not acting swiftly.

Stating the project would take at least another two months to see light at the end of the tunnel, they wondered why the Government did not consider permitting the municipality to use another dumping yard as a stopgap arrangement or suggest an alternate place until the project at Venkatamangalam fructified.

At this juncture, the civic workers were now left with no alternative other than dumping refuse in those places where there was least public outcry.

On Friday, Pallavaram's workers dumped garbage on either side of the newly-laid road connecting Pallavaram and Perungudi.

Further, all forms of waste was burnt, including damp ones, resulting in a thick smoke, posing risk for motorists and causing inconvenience to residents in the vicinity.

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