The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : The cup of woes overflows with garbage

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Monday, Nov 10, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

The cup of woes overflows with garbage

Kannal Achuthan

Residents want an alternative site to dump waste

Chennai: Motorists using the Basin Bridge Road in north Chennai had a tough time on Sunday morning as the road was strewn with garbage.

Several trucks that carried garbage from the Pulianthope transfer station had failed to use a net cover . Some of the trucks had a net, but were so heavily loaded that garbage spilled on the road as they drove away.

S. Lokabi, a resident of Perambur, said that the stench was unbearable along the road, an arterial stretch for residents of north Chennai. “Garbage just kept falling off the trucks. The road also has several potholes, making it worse for motorists,” he said.

The upgraded garbage transfer station in Pulianthope is used by two Corporation zones – Pulianthope and Kilpauk – to temporarily store garbage before it is taken to the Kodungaiyur dump yard. The Kilpauk zone does not have its own garbage transfer station. The Pulianthope zone generates about 250 tonnes of garbage every day and the Kilpauk zone about 450 tonnes.

V. Sarojini, a resident of MKB Nagar in Vyasarpadi, said that she used the Basin Bridge Road every day to commute to the southern part of the city. “The problem of garbage spillage is common here,” she said.

The Ayanavaram zone also had a problem of garbage overflow on the road near the transfer station but a temporary solution was found now. As the Ayanavaram zone transfer station located off Brick Kiln Road is being upgraded, garbage is dumped close to the road.

Local residents demanded that an alternative site be identified to dump the garbage till the construction was completed. Municipal councillor Devaki raised the matter at a recent council meeting. The garbage is now being dumped on a small piece of Corporation land adjacent to the transfer station. The arrangement would continue till the upgraded transfer station is ready.

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