Thanjavur Corporation’s proposed move to set up waste segregation units in each sanitary ward in the town has evoked strong opposition from residents.
The initial voice of dissent has emerged from Arulananda Nagar — a posh and serene locality in the town — where a group of residents have registered their protest in writing to the civic body and the district administration.
The missive recalls that when the residential layout was developed in 1960s, late promoter Rao Bhagadur Arulanandaswamy Nadar left a piece of land measuring 900 metre in length and 100 metre in width as open space to facilitate installation of high tension power cable towers to Nagapattinam from Pykara Hydroelectric Power Station, Mudumalai, The Nilgiris district.
Subsequently, as residential buildings came up, developers handed over a major portion of the land to the civic body for setting up a park and walking path. “The space was utilised as walking area as well as a park till a few years ago,” said A. John Joseph, a senior citizen.
The greenery and walkers’ path vanished slowly for reasons best known to the civic body and the area turned barren. A few days ago, civic staff landed at the site and started clearing the the site, giving an impression that the park might make a come back.
However, much to the dismay of the residents, enquiries showed that the site was being readied for a garbage segregation unit following a Corporation move to set up the facility in each of its 14 sanitary blocks, Mr. John Joseph said.
Led by Mr. John Joseph, the residents have now written to the Corporation and district administration to convey their resentment over a measure that will spoil the serene atmosphere of the locality.
Corporation sources say the proposal to set up segregation units is yet to be approved. The civic body, however, has already taken up a bio-mining project at a compost yard in Chekkady at a cost of ₹15 crore, where machinery to segregate waste collected from 51 wards is being installed.
Equipment to mechanically segregate non-biodegradable and bio-degradable waste is being procured in phases, the sources added.
