Chennai rivers are set to get more boom barriers to trap plastic waste, preventing them from entering the sea. Using these, the Chennai Corporation prevented more than 546 tonnes of municipal solid waste, primarily consisting of non-biodegradable plastic, from flowing into the sea, in two months of this northeast monsoon.
Corporation officials said four boom barriers in the Cooum River have started reducing pollution. They have been deployed on the river near Commander-in-Chief Road, Periyar Bridge on Swami Sivananda Salai, Choolaimedu High level bridge and Officers Colony Fourth Street, near Virugambakkam Canal.
“We have started collecting waste trapped by the boom barriers on a daily basis. From the boom barrier near Swami Sivananda Salai, we collect about 12 to 14 tonnes per day,” said an official.
Four more barriers will be commissioned near Santhi Colony opposite NSK Nagar, Madras Medical College new building, Quaid-e-Milleth Bridge near Island Grounds in the northern arm of the river and Napier Bridge before the disposal point of the Central Buckingham Canal.
“These additional facilities are expected to trap all the plastic waste floating in the river,” said an official.
The boom barriers would be commissioned at a cost of ₹1.05 crore.
In Adyar river soon
Similarly, Adyar river would also get facilities to trap plastic waste shortly. “A study of the detailed project report of Adyar eco-restoration points to the need for erecting boom barriers,” said an official.
Corporation officials have stressed the need for boom barriers in Kosasthalaiyar and Kovalam basins also at meetings with line agencies. “Over 30% of the waste in the river is plastic. More boom barriers have to be erected in Kosasthalaiyar and Kovalam, based on the study on eco-restoration of the basins,” said an official.
