From fruit peel, fast-food packets, plastic wrappers to sofa cushions and broken ceramic toilet fittings, all are found strewn at several spots on Station Border Road. Stray dogs and cattle scavenge the open dump and spread the waste along the roadsides, residents say.
While the lack of dustbins has been a constant complaint, the demand for curbing the stray animal menace is on the rise. A 30-year-old resident alleges that the waste is found more in the evening than in the morning. There is no surveillance. Hence, no action is taken by officials, he says.
The lane connecting Radha Nagar Main Road and Dargah Road runs parallel to the Tambaram Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS). As it is near major residential areas, this road is used by many to avoid the traffic congestion on GST Road and at the Pallavaram Flyover.
Earlier, Station Border Road was a cement road, ridden with potholes. Now, a few stretches of this road, close to Radha Nagar, still remain rutted even after roads in the locality were re-laid a few months ago, the residents claim.
According to Tambaram Mayor K. Vasanthakumari, the residents complain that motorists throw waste while on the move. “Door-to-door waste collection is done. Workers clear the open dump every morning. Surveillance cameras will be installed on the road to check who is responsible for open dumping, and action will be taken,” she says.
“We are planning to outsource the process of capturing stray cattle and increase the number of sheds under the Corporation. Cow-catchers will be deployed by a private agency, and the animals will be sheltered by the civic body,” she says.
