The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Garbage dumped in river, burnt on banks and ecosystem in tatters

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Monday, Jan 28, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Garbage dumped in river, burnt on banks and ecosystem in tatters

K. Manikandan

Shortage of landfill sites continues to pose problems in suburbs such as Tiruneermalai

— Photo: K. Manikandan.

Mounting menace: Garbage dumped on the banks of Adyar in Tiruneermalai.

TAMBARAM: The location of a temple atop a hillock, the temple tank opposite the flight of steps, acres of lush green fields in its vicinity and the Adyar river meandering past nearby make Tiruneermalai near here a picture perfect location. But a solid waste management programme is causing an acute environmental problem in the area.

Civic workers of this urban local body have been dumping kitchen and plastic waste on the banks of the Adyar river adjacent to the bridge connecting Tiruneermalai with Tirumudivakkam. The heaps of garbage are also set on fire, resulting in thick fumes of smoke billowing continuously.

The dumping of garbage at this spot has been on for sometime now. Chunks of garbage fall into the river and get washed away.

As long as there is flow of water in the river, residents of downstream Anakaputhur, Gowl Bazaar, Manapakkam and Nandambakkam use the river for bathing and washing clothes.

Originating as a stream from a village near Guduvanchery, it assumes the status of a river when surplus water is discharged from the the Chembarambakkam tank.

Close to 10 tonnes of garbage is generated everyday in Tiruneermalai town panchayat that has a population of more than 25,000.

Using a couple of lorries, a tractor and a tricycle, the garbage is dumped on the river banks. However, authorities of the town panchayat have also taken an initiative to compost kitchen waste into manure.

A portion of the kitchen waste is converted into manure at the sheds built at the cost of Rs. 10 lakhs in 2004-2005.

Not all 17 bins in the shed are used. Officials attributed the problems to shortage of landfill sites earmarked for dumping garbage. There was an earlier plan to dig trenches and dump garbage adjacent to the river, but they dropped it owing to a continuous percolation of water.

A section of staff of the Directorate of Town Panchayats said that measures such as source segregation and construction of integrated, scientific compost yards were the only permanent solutions to address the problem of handling and disposal of garbage.

The integrated compost yard for municipalities at Venkatamangalam near Vandalur was proceeding at a snail’s pace even nearly two years after preliminary works began, sources pointed out.

Such projects should be extended to cover all 11 town panchayats of Kancheepuram district that come under Chennai Metropolitan Area and also the 25 village panchayats of St. Thomas Mount Block.

A senior official said massive sums had been earmarked for Tamil Nadu for urban development under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.

Getting funds for important projects was no longer a problem, he said, adding that completing them on time certainly was.

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