Madurai
Around a year back, Madurai Corporation officials had cleared around 750 kg of waste from BB Kulam channel and the stormwater drains on Gokhale Road. This was done to direct water from the Periyar irrigation channel to BB Kulam channel and finally drain into the Prasanna Venkatachalapathy Temple tank in Tallakulam through the stormwater drains on Gokhale Road.
The efforts of the civic body paid off as water was stored at the tank for nearly five months, which, in turn, helped to improve the groundwater level in nearby areas.
But, today the BB Kulam presents a sorry picture at Chokkikulam here, as it has again turned into a receptacle for household garbage and waste. It was filled with layers of garbage and plastic waste- all on a bed of sewage.
R. Subburaj, a resident of Gokhale Road -Lane 1, said that the absence of door-to-door collection of waste by Corporation workers had forced the residents to dump waste on the banks of the channel.
“Some residents also directly dump the household waste into the channel,” he added.
Adding to this problem is the shortage in the number of dumper bins present in the locality, said Vimala, another resident.
“The dumper bins are all present far away from our residences. Also, it is common to see these dumper bins overflowing as the Corporation workers clear the waste only thrice a week,” she complained.
But, it is the duty of every resident to protect the water bodies, said S. Eswaran, an autorickshaw driver. “To achieve this, the officials must collect fine from those littering the waterbodies,” he said.
City Health Officer (in-charge) S. Senthil said that after the commissioning of 41 micro composting centres in the city, door-to-door collection of waste from all residences will be guaranteed.
“At Thathaneri and Menendhal, where the MCCs are currently functioning, there are no dumper bins present in those areas. So, 75% of the problem will be solved once all the MCCs are commissioned,” he said.
But, residents must understand that it is a shared responsibility and stop dumping waste into the channel, he added.
“This can be achieved when we create a behavioural change among residents. Once waste from all households is collected by the workers, the peer pressure from other residents will discourage people from dumping waste into waterbodies,” he said.
