Citizen Connect: No bins to dump waste in Ondikuppam

An extensive heap of solid waste accumulated from nearby residential areas of Ondikuppam in Thiruvottiyur has been posing a problem for residents. They complain that as there is no allocated space for garbage disposal, waste is now being dumped into any available vacant space.

These unauthorised dump yards near Ondikuppam have been a cause for concern for the residents.They claim that there has been increasing cases of viral fevers.

“We don’t have garbage bins in our locality and so we dispose garbage at any cvacant space. This is been happening for past one year. We filed several complains to the corporation, but they didn’t bother to visit the place,” said, V Pushpalatha, a resident.

She added that a few months ago, officials visited the place and promised to clear the space and keep a garbage bin. “But they ended up burning the waste instead. There is no allocation for solid waste disposal here,” Pushpalatha said.

“As we don’t have an alternative place to dump the garbage, we only dump near the government school. It gets extremely difficult during rainy season, the garbage float in the water. We cannot step outside when it is raining,” said Ezhumalai S, another resident of Ondikuppam. Residents also complained that residents dump the wastes near a government school in the area. “Even after a warning from the school management they continue throwing the garbage. We told the residents not to dump the garbage near the school, because it stinks inside the class. We keep the class windows closed because of this,” said the principal of the government school.

N Maheshsan, Chief Engineer (solid waste management), Greater Chennai Corporation said, “We are having garbage bins as per plans. We have kept two bins in every street in thecity. We will ask the officials to visit the spot and make arrangements.”