One tonne of plastic waste was removed from the micro canal of Virugambakkam’s canal, in Tamilar Veedhi, Choolaimedu, falling under zone 8 of the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), on Monday, November 6, 2023.
GCC Commissioner J. Radhakrishnan said a case would be booked against a woman who was found openly dumping waste near the micro canal during his inspection there. “There are three major basin within the Greater Chennai Corporation limits: Kosasthalaiyar, Adyar and Cooum, a major canal, Buckhinham Canal; 14 canals under the Water Resources Department (WRD) including this Virugambakkam canal as well as 33 micro canals maintained by the GCC. Even if measures are taken to ensure continuous flow of water, people must realise that water gets blocked due to the disposal of waste [into waterbodies].”
The canal, maintained by the WRD, runs from Nerkundram in zone 10 to the Cooum basin in Choolaimedu, and faces a persistent issue of plastic waste blocking its drainage system. According to the GCC, the canal is approximately 30 feet wide at the mouth in zone 10, narrowing to 10 feet in zone 8, and has a depth of roughly 10 feet from the road level.
The drainage system includes culverts equipped with vent holes for water flow, which are often blocked by waste, officials said.
The Public Works Department (PWD) took action by clearing the waste and desilting the canal around 15 days ago. “We clean the canal twice every week and collect nearly a tonne of plastic waste. Following the Commissioner’s inspection, one tonne of plastic waste was removed by the Corporation. While he was inspecting, a woman dumped waste at the Tamilar Veethi. Authorities are planning to file a case against the woman,” an official of zone 8 said. The Commissioner informed the woman that the practice of open dumping in unauthorised sites, specifically close to water bodies is illegal, the official added.
There are no closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras on this street to check for violators. N. Mahesan, Chief Engineer (Solid Waste Management), GCC, said CCTV cameras can be placed at strategic areas across many canals in the city. Sometimes however, the cameras are broken by miscreants.
Mr. Radhakrishnan has requested the public not to discard of plastic wastes in open sites and to take responsibility for disposing of their trash. “People must not use banned single-use plastic items. Many have discarded plastic items, and helmets near the micro canal. Even if the frequency of clearing is increased, waste gets accumulated in just one day and is washed down, blocking the canals if there is heavy rain that day,” he pointed out.
