The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Coimbatore News : Epidemic threat looms large over residential colonies

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jun 11, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore

Epidemic threat looms large over residential colonies

By K.V. Prasad

COIMBATORE, JUNE 10. In their continuing battle against the garbage menace at the compost yard in Vellalore, residents of nine colonies have decided to stage a fast on June 12 to draw the attention of the authorities concerned to their plight that has been brought on them by the mountains of garbage at the yard.

The residents say that the fast, under the banner of the Kurichi-Vellalore Pollution Prevention Action Committee, has been forced on them as their representations to the Coimbatore Corporation and district administration have not evoked the desired response. Though the burning of garbage has stopped, nothing is done to eliminate swarms of flies that have invaded every single house in these colonies. The association's decision to observe fast follows discovery of a substantial amount of biomedical waste lying dumped among other solid waste at the yard. Video footage showing the hazardous waste had been submitted to the authorities, including the health department of the Corporation. The footage shows biomedical waste from a hospital in the city and the civic body had also said action had been initiated against it in the form of a notice.

War on hospitals

The Corporation is already on a war with the hospitals over unsafe disposal of biomedical waste. It had earlier ordered a halt to the collection of biomedical waste from the hospitals by its conservancy workers, alleging that the waste was mixed with other municipal solid waste. Irked by the delay in establishing a common facilitator for disposal of biomedical waste and the consequent dumping of amputated body parts in the compost yard, the civic body declared that the waste would not be collected by it.

What plagues the people of Mahalingapuram, Elgi Nagar, Konavaikalpalayam, Sriram Nagar, Anbu Nagar, Easwar Nagar, Mettur, Podanur and Vellalore (who have formed the association) is the fly menace.

Fly menace

Though the Corporation seems to have put an end to the burning of garbage that caused respiratory tract problems to the people, the continuance of the fly menace points out that little has been done by the civic body to end it, says the secretary of the association, K.S. Mohan. "A spate of health problems is reported every day from these colonies. S. Vijayanirmala, a doctor in Podanur, says at least 50 cases affected by the yard turn up every day at her clinic. "

At least 10 of them are children. While cases of wheezing among children had turned up regularly when garbage was burnt, now cases of infection caused by flies stream in. Cases of diarrhoea are high"

Epidemic outbreak

The doctor herself shifted from Easwar Nagar that is close to the yard. "The smoke from the garbage dumps drove me out of that place." An epidemic outbreak in this area is possible what with the garbage persisting in the yard.

Mr. Mohan says that the Corporation is not continuing with its only option now of land-filling to dispose of waste. "Apparently, they do not have any more mud to cover the waste. So much of it is brought into the yard every day."

The minimum that can be done is to spray disinfectant on the dumps to keep the flies away. "If this happens at Race Course, will the situation be allowed to worsen as in the case of our areas," he asks. "The flies have usurped our house. We cannot even have a decent meal now."

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