Residents of Mylapore living just behind a popular mall – Chennai Citi Centre – have had to put up with the strong stench of rotting garbage for several days.
Garbage collected from various localities is generally dumped in an open site on Karuneeswarar Pagoda Street. This has been going on for over 15 years. Usually, the accumulated garbage from the site is taken away every day by trucks and disposed of at the Perungudi dumpyard. But for a few days now, the garbage has not been collected, leaving the area to drown in a foul odour.
P. Radhika, 32, who has lived in the area for decades, said, “The stench is so bad that we are finding it difficult to eat. It is so pervasive that sometimes, we prefer to go to bed hungry. I am also very worried about my children – they may develop infections from the rotting garbage as they play on the street here most of the time.”
Residents of the locality have protested several times, both for the removal of garbage on a regular basis and to stop disposal at the site. The problem, residents say, peaks during the monsoon season when rainwater mixes with the garbage and flows out.
S.K. Siva of the Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front said, “Most people here are unable to do much about the situation. Several complaints have been made but no action has been taken as yet.” He added that there may be a protest if the garbage was not cleared at the earliest.
Councillor of the area, R. Bommi said that she has already informed Chennai Corporation officials as well as officials of Ramky Enviro Engineers, the private conservancy agency that has been contracted to operate in some zones of the city.
“When I went to check with the Ramky employees about this problem, not even half of them were here for work. I have taken all possible steps to ensure that this problem is resolved soon,” she said.
Some Corporation officials however, professed ignorance about the problem.
Keywords: garbage waste, Mylapore area, Chennai Corporation, civic issues, Karuneeswarar Pagoda Street
is this the cause of callous constructions in our ever expanding metropolis. where did we go wrong. can we continue to blame on governments, the previous or the present or the future ones. where will we be standing years down the line. how much can we compromise on our living standards. are we planning ahead. do we have a planning commission to control our hap hazardous unplanned growth. does that planning commission work sans corruption. as proud democratic country’s citizens do we strive to keep our places sans filth. questions galore, answers should reflect only we clean ourselves up
Dengue's paradise!
What else?
Even as the Mylaporian suffers the stench, those who reside in
the Valasaravakkam - on the Arcot Road could not bear the stench
of the garbage being dumped, continuing to be dumped. Ironically, a new
branch of Saravana Bhavan has started functioning recently just opposite the dump-yard, amidst strong stench and impurity. There is also a bus stop very nearby. Those who pass this stretch of Arcot road, by any mode of transport including the pedestrians, cannot help covering their nostrils.
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