: Areas in the western fringes of the city along the CTH Road share a common woe — that of inadequate solid waste management. Ambattur and Avadi together generate over 380 tonnes of garbage everyday, making management of growing amount of solid waste a challenging task for the local bodies.
Over the last one year, Ambattur has witnessed an increase of 25 tonnes and Avadi 15 tonnes, which is proof enough for the fast track to development in the localities.
Residents of these municipalities said measures taken to segregate garbage at source, at a household level has not progressed much as the municipalities do not have sufficient space for composting.
People of Gnanamurthy Nagar, Vijayalakshmipuram, Mogappair West and Krishnapuram in Ambattur complained that the garbage was cleared only twice a week. The problem was intense in wards covered by Neel Metal Fanalca, private agency engaged for waste disposal.
Though source segregation has been implemented in few wards, residents feel less motivated as there is no composting facility.
G.Alamelu, a resident of Ambattur, said the lack of sufficient bins has led to using street corners as makeshift dumping yards. Though the waste collection has been privatised in 25 of the 52 wards, it has not helped much in making the locality garbage-free.
R.Sekar, a resident of Avadi, said vacant plots also become easy targets for dumping garbage posing a health risk to the people.
Officials of Ambattur municipality said the long-pending issue of setting up a compost yard at Kuthambakkam is soon expected to be solved. The 65-acre facility will be shared along with local bodies of Poonamallee, Thiruverkadu, Valasaravakkam and Maduravoyal.
Application for clearance from state level Environment Impact Assessment Authority would be submitted by this month end. Tendering process is set to begin in two months after public hearing. The detailed project report for integrated SWM in the area is also under evaluation.
“It will take about 8-10 months to set up the facility. We will have to manage with the limited space at the Athipattu dumping yard till then. The tall mound of garbage in the facility is being levelled to provide additional space for disposal,” the official said.
The municipality received complaints about poor waste clearance by Neel Metal Fanalca, particularly in areas such as Ambattur industrial estate and Mogappair.
The local body levies a monthly fine of Rs.2-Rs.5 lakh.
Avadi chairman Victory Mohan said the waste disposal problem would soon be put to an end as work is on to establish compost yard at Sekkadu.
