“In Melavasal, garbage falls from the skies,” says V. Balamurugan, a 23-year-old resident. In this ward of the City Corporation, tons of garbage is being dumped by residents residing in the apartment blocks constructed by the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board directly on to the roads. Without door to door collection and lack of adequate dumper bins, much of Melavasal continues to tread on discards.
Long-term residents believe that authorities from the Slum Clearance Board and City Corporation only take steps towards cleanliness and hygiene when senior authorities from the Central and State governments come visiting. “About a month ago, L. Murugan, Vice-Chairman, National Commission of Scheduled Castes, came visiting. Two days prior to his arrival, local bodies brought earthmovers and conservancy workers to clean the massive piles of rubbish piled up behind each of the blocks. They looked into the faults present in the water supply pipeline and even checked our drainage. This was the first time they were checking since it was laid,” says N. Murugammal, another resident.
On the day of the visit, officials did not allow the dwellers to present their grievances regarding the lack of basic infrastructure to the Vice Chairman, she said and added that they were shooed away.
“The minute Mr. Murugan left, all work stopped,” she says.
Melavasal continues to deal with the same problems it faced about 20 years ago - open drains, drinking water supply laced with sewage, bad roads and teeming garbage. The single park, with broken play equipment, is under the maintenance of the Slum Clearance Board. The residents use it as a pen for animals, including cows and goats. Not a single night passes without the familiar buzz of mosquitoes, say residents.
M. Venkatachalam, owner of a small business, says that unless steps are taken to educate the population, Melavasal would continue to drown in its own garbage.
A Slum Clearance Board official said that road works worth ₹40 lakh have been sanctioned under the City Corporation’s general fund and tender estimates worth ₹8 lakh have been received to restore the broken water supply lines.
An engineer from the local body pointed out that sanitation continues to be a problem in Melavasal area because the downfall drainage pipes from the top floor are broken, disconnected or blocked. A total of ₹4 lakh has been alloted for refurbishing the park as well, he added. “Work is expected to begin in the area only after rains stop,” he added.
