Fort backyard turns into dumping ground for animal waste

Corporation officials fault residents for failing to use bins provided at street corners

Garbage, poultry trash and meat wastes from nearby shops being dumped indiscriminately on the banks of Vellore Fort on Old Bangalore Road. C. Venkatachalapathy

Heaps of garbage, mainly poultry and animal wastages were dumped on the Old Bengaluru Road in Vellore town, just behind the famous Vellore Fort and Jalagandeswarar Temple.

The road is dotted by several hospitals, commercial establishments and a government-run fish and meat market on one side and the other side belongs to the Archaeological Survey Department, which has raised an iron fence to deter people from dumping waste.

In the absence of bins, residents dump the waste on roads. Stray dogs and cattle feed on the garbage.

Debris from buildings and waste from hotels are dumped on the road. All these lead leads to environmental degradation, says residents in Kansalpet.

People from other streets also dump the garbage on the road resulting in a garbage getting piled up. “Either bins should be placed or garbage should be cleared regularly,” residents said.

Sources with the ASI said that animal waste was dumped on the backyard of the Fort area. “We have asked Vellore Municipal Corporation to look after that area. But, people from that area oppose any move by the Corporation to improve the fort area,” sources added.

But, Vellore Municipal Corporation officials said that bins were available in the street corners and inside the fish market, but residents fail to use utilise it. Residents dump the garbage at places convenient to them and the Corporation cannot immediately clear them, they said. Bins cannot be placed on places inside ASI Fort. Hence, residents should cooperate with conservancy workers, they added.