It has been several years since Dr. Kamalam opened the front gates of her house at Hanumar Koil Street in Radha Nagar. It’s not because she doesn’t want any visitors, but because the gate has been completely blocked by garbage and cannot be opened.
A senior citizen, Dr. Kamalam and her family have been living in this house since 1967. “Shop owners and roadside vendors dump all their trash in front of the gate. Though I don’t step out of the house all that often, I certainly do not want the premises to be turned into a dumping ground. If I have to leave the house to visit a doctor or for any other purpose, I have to go out only through the gates of the neighbouring house in the same compound. How will I go out in case there’s a serious medical emergency,” she asks.
On Wednesday morning, this reporter found plastic covers, vegetable and fruit waste, construction debris and even an old toilet commode dumped in front of the gate. Dr. Kamalam says she petitioned the Pallavapuram Municipality several times seeking that strict action be taken against those dumping garbage in front of her house but the officials did not take her complaints seriously.
Her niece Pramila says she recently lodged a complaint through the Municipality’s helpline and all she received was an acknowledgement message and no action was taken. “The problem goes back by four to five years. Earlier, the street used to have dustbins and one such bin was placed near our house. When the Municipality decided to do away with the bins, people started using the space as a dumping ground, instead of segregating the waste at source and handing it over to the conservancy workers. There are many shops on this street and most of them drop the garbage late at night so they won’t be caught. When the officials failed to act on our complaints, we stopped opening the gate altogether,” she says. The traders, however, claim ignorance and say that it’s difficult to find out who dumps the garbage there.
When contacted, a sanitary inspector of Pallavapuram Municipality claimed that conservancy workers were cleaning the spot regularly but shop owners kept dumping more trash at night. He promised to visit the spot and put up a warning board against littering and also warn shop owners of strict action.
