A major portion of the recently renovated Sarovaram Biopark road has turned into a dumping yard of automotive parts comprising huge quantity of glass, rubber, metal and fibre trash.
The area, which had only a few number of shredding units specialised in dismantling motorbikes, is now emerging as a hub of large-scale shredding along the unoccupied patches of the land.
Though some of the junk dealers in the area clear the stock on a weekly or monthly basis, the unsold items with minimal market value are piling up along the road, which is located close to an overexploited wetland. The road used by visitors to reach the park is also facing the threat of defacement because of the illegal business.
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“There are also several wayside mechanics who repair vehicles along this road and they leave the entire residue, including black oil and other non-degradable parts, on the road,” says V. Abhilash, a city resident and a regular visitor of the biopark. He says the quantity of junk items is increasing everyday as more small-scale dismantling units are coming to the area, exploiting the lack of proper surveillance.
Residents from the area also complain that some of the illegal dismantling units set afire the plastic and rubber parts of vehicles to get rid of them. Some of them even dump huge quantity of non-degradable waste in the nearby wetlands as there is no proper mechanism in place to prevent such polluting activities, they add.
It was in 2012 that the Bio-park road was developed as a model road in the city to ensure better access to the eco-tourism spot. Around Rs.3 crore had been spent for the renovation works after it was taken over by the Tourism Department from the possession of the Public Health Engineering Department clearing all encroachments.
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