The Greater Chennai Corporation has transformed a garbage dump, which had become an eyesore for the public, into a green zone near the Kotturpuram railway station.
Civic officials of the Adyar zone have raised a mini-forest on the land located along the Canal Bank Road on the eastern side of the Mass Rapid Transit System railway station at Kotturpuram.
A resident of Kotturpuram said building debris had been dumped on the land leading to the underground car park. Over the years, residents living along the Canal Bank Road started dumping all their garbage on the vacant land.
Moreover, customers visiting Tasmac shops nearby used to relieve themselves on the land. The residents then petitioned civic officials to take steps to prevent dumping of waste there.
Alby John Varghese, Regional Deputy Commissioner (South) of the Corporation, said many complaints had been received from residents about the land becoming an eyesore.
“After a visit to the site, the civic body tried to prevent dumping of waste by putting up a warning notice board. Then we conceived the idea to turn the vacant land into a green zone using the Miyawaki method. First, the vacant land was ring fenced and the construction debris was removed and replaced by more than four feet of fresh earth.” The greening project, which was inaugurated by Corporation Commissioner G. Prakash in February, had more than 2,000 saplings.
The civic body plans to throw open the green zone for the public once the saplings are well grown and after paving the pavement.
