An empty piece of land at the end of Akbarabad First Street in Kodambakkam has become a dumpyard of sorts. In the thickly-populated locality, this has raised health concerns, as the spot is also used by people to defecate in the open.
Saraswathi, a resident of the street for over 20 years said that the dumping of garbage there has been a persistent problem through the years. “Earlier, there was a lot more garbage brought in by vehicles and dumped here. While this has stopped, a few residents from the nearby areas still use this spot to empty their dustbins or discard scrap material,” she said.
On Tuesday morning, a few people were seen discarding pieces of broken furniture , cardboard boxes and emptying bags of waste in the land there.
V. Balaji, another resident there said that since this is not a designated spot for garbage collection, the Chennai Corporation did not clear it on a daily basis. “I have however raised complaints on the Swacch App and based on that, the place has been cleared. However, the garbage dumping continues,” he added.
The area is not just a residential locality, but also houses several other establishments including a studio, offices and a school. There are also new real estate projects that are coming up there.
“We’ve been told that the land is ‘porambokku’. The Corporation should clear it and cordon it off. Even if they place dustbins there, people were will continue to dump garbage around it,” S. Srimathi, a resident of the area said.
