Legal action likely for dumping garbage in waterways

Police are planning to file FIRs against those violating the rules; the guilty may get up to three months in jail and a fine; large-scale cleaning of channels continues

Way to go: Volunteers remove blocks in the Buckingham Canal at Mylapore on Wednesday.

Those who dump garbage in the city’s waterways are likely to face action with the police planning to register FIRs against such residents.

Every year, clearing water hyacinth and accumulated garbage on the water courses is an onerous task for the teams of the Water Resources Department, particularly during the northeast monsoon.

To offset the delay, the department has been engaging more machinery to clean up various stretches simultaneously.

In a bid to ensure the free flow of water, the city police have joined hands with WRD and the Chennai Corporation. “Based on instructions from the city police Commissioner A.K. Viswanathan, we are coordinating with other departments in clearing garbage from the water channels running through the city,” said a senior police officer.

Once the waterways, including Buckingham canal, are cleaned during the monsoon, the police are planning to register FIRs under section 336 of the IPC (Act endangering life or personal safety of others) if residents dump garbage or release sewage. The act says, “Whoever does any act so rashly or negligently as to endanger human life or the personal safety of others, shall be punished with imprisonment of either a term extending to three months, or with fine up to ₹250, or with both.”

Since early this month, the WRD has engaged nearly 20 pieces of equipment in the various stretches of Red Hills surplus course, including Amullaivoyal, near Manali. Officials said nearly 26,000 cubic feet of weeds have been removed so far from the surplus course alone. The 8.5-km long surplus course travels through 10 villages before draining into Ennore creek.

Minimising flooding

C.R. Balaji, a resident of Mandaveli, said the Chennai Corporation has started cleaning Okkiyam Maduvu, which joins Buckingham canal, Veerangal Odai and Velachery lake after many representations. This work, which has enabled the free flow of water, has helped minimise flooding in areas such as Karapakkam and Velachery to some extent.

Welcoming the efforts of the city police, a senior PWD official said, “We have to engage more machinery as the overgrown weeds are difficult to remove from the waterways. We often do not have sufficient funds or manpower to clean the water courses throughout the year. Such initiatives will help us maintain the waterways.”

In Mylapore district, the police have deployed volunteers to study locations prone to flooding. “We plan to conduct sensitisation programmes in the slums along the 5-km stretch of Buckingham Canal about the hazards of dumping garbage,” said a senior police officer. This will prevent people from dirtying the water channels. As they get clogged, flooding occurs and this endangers human lives, he added.