Burning of household waste continues unabated on Oyamari Road between Melachinthamani and Chennai Bypass Road, causing inconvenience to passers-by.
Till a few years ago, there was not much activity on the road except for mourners who visit the gasifier crematorium to perform last rites of their departed relatives and those who take bath in the Cauvery river. Since the road overbridge (ROB) was constructed, it has become a busy stretch with a large number of vehicles plying on the road.
A one-km portion on the stretch from Melachinthamani to Chennai bypass road is where dumpyards have become visible. Waste right from construction materials, leftover food, plastics and bottles, and household materials such as sofa, cushion, mattresses, and pillows are dumped and set on fire.
As it affected the people in the surroundings, the Tiruchi Corporation had stepped in and put up notice boards, warning those setting fire to the discarded items. This had brought down the instances of people throwing unwanted items along the roadsides. After a lull, the menace has reappeared now.
It is a common to sight to see the burning of waste any time on Oyamari Road. In most cases, relatives and family members of the deceased do not want to keep the clothes, mattresses, mats, pillows, bedcovers and bedsheets of the dead in their homes. The materials are dumped on the roadside at night and set afire, thereby causing air pollution in the area.
It is an added discomfort to the people who are already grappling with the air pollution caused by continuous burning of dead bodies in the crematorium at Oyamari.
Local residents and road users complain that though they had petitioned to the Corporation officials on several occasions, the menace continues unabated.
“The road can not be allowed to be used as a dump yard. The garbage collectors confine to picking up food and domestic waste. People looking to discard unwanted household items use the spot as a convenient location. The Corporation should have a system to collect and dispose materials discarded by relatives of the deceased,” says N. Jamaludeen, a civic activist.
When contacted Corporation Commissioner P. M. N. Mujibur Rahuman told The Hindu that tough action would be initiated against those polluting the Oyamari Road. Surveillance would be stepped up to identify them. A solution will be arrived at shortly, he assured.
