Major fire in a dumping yard in Pallkaranai disrupted traffic and affected visibility for motorists for hours on Saturday
A major fire broke out in the garbage dumping yard at Pallikaranai on Saturday throwing vehicular traffic off gear on Velachery Main Road and adjoining areas for many hours. Residents near the dumping yard moved to other locations as they suffered breathing problems.
Chennai Corporation sources said the fire in the 15-acre dumping yard started around 2 a.m. on Saturday and quickly spread to the huge pile of garbage, including plastic, paper and chemical wastes.
By daybreak, thick white smoke started billowing from the burning waste and engulfed adjoining areas of Mylai Balaji Nagar, Ram Nagar and Sadasivan Nagar. Some residents were confined to their houses while others left the area after they experienced difficulty in breathing and severe irritation in the eyes.
Six fire tenders from fire stations at Raj Bhavan, Guindy and Nandanam rushed to the area but the flames could not be contained despite firemen battling the blaze till afternoon. Visibility was reduced due to the smoke and motorists moved at a snail's pace.
The chaos also led to a minor accident when a motorcyclist rammed a lorry and suffered head injuries. He was admitted to a hospital and is out of danger, a police officer said.
Vehicles plying on Velachery Main Road were diverted. Traffic police diverted MTC buses coming from Tambaram and heading to Velachery to 200-Feet Road. Vehicles going from Velachery to Tambaram were intercepted at Kaiveli and diverted to Madipakkam Main Road.
Late in the evening, firemen continued to struggle with the flames which shrouded the entire area in smoke, the police officer said.
Keywords: dumping yard fire, disaster, accident
Who is responsible for this fire ? The usually blamed anti-social elements? Our corporation folks and our politicians have to be educated on the effects of burning plastics. Don't think even God can save this beautiful world. :-(
Is green and clean chennai a joke?
In newspapers, repeatedly same problem is being reported, but no
action is being taken by the authorities to stop this nuisense.
why Chennai Corporation is not being booked for violating high court
ruling and for not taking action against this, even after repeated
complaints have been made by residents?
Just by saying that it is beyond them and Police has to guard the
place, Chennai Corporation cannot wash off their hands. It is their
duty , responsibility to stop this and they only are accountable.
Today 10th June'12, whole day garbage was being burnt. In the evening
smoke in Velachery area became severe. It is creating breathing
problem and a constant health hazard.
This is a regular story happening for years.Common for all people around these areas.The corporation has hardly taken any steps to curb these incidents.They continue to dump garbage using lorries.Cannot expect solution for another 2 decades.
This is a daily routine and we the residents of Madipakkam are inhaling
the slow poison every single day. Today the intensity and magnitude of
the smoke was high and so it caught everyone's attention. Our shout for
many month's fell deaf in the ears of Chennai corporation officials and
even the Tamilnadu Pollution Control board was not able to stop the
burning menace at the garbage dumpyard in Pallikaranai. It is our fate
that we are in such a democratic country where no one's voice will be
heard.
Thick asphyxiating smoke engulfing the entire region is a daily
affair. The air quality around this region is unbearable. It is
even difficult to breathe at times in addition to the irritation
caused to eyes from the non-stop smoke. Apart from damaging the
sensitive wetland bird ecosystem, it carries innumerable
carcinogens triggering a public health concern. The Chennai
Corporation can surely do better waste management. It is pathetic
that such an important wetland is being slowly killed everyday.
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