Urapakkam panchayat leaves much to be desired

One of the fast-developing areas in Chengalpattu district, Urapakkam has no dump yard to keep itself clean. Sources said there are 15 wards in Urapakkam with a population of nearly 50,000 people. The area is close to the entrance of Chennai and hence many people who work in Chennai preferred to stay there for its once serene environment. Many private builders have started constructing apartments in the locality and most of the IT employees, who are working in OMR, have also found their home in Urapakkam. 

However, the present situation has left the residents frustrated and hopeless with every street remaining dirty with uncleared garbage. “After retirement, I and my wife shifted to Urapakkam from the city to relax and get some fresh air but now we feel that we have made a wrong decision since the roads are filled with garbage and we can’t even use our balcony due to the foul smell emanating from there,” said Shantha Moorthy of MG Nagar in Urapakkam. 

The residents said in future, many people would visit Urapakkam since the bus terminal to travel to the southern districts of Tamil Nadu is constructed in Kilampakkam, under the Urapakkam panchayat. They rue that roads are filled with garbage, drains clogged in many places and the streetlights non-functional in some of the main areas. 

Dinesh Kumar, an activist said: “The contract staff employed by the panchayat are dumping the collected garbage on the roadside near the GST Road. During night hours some anti-socials set them afire and because of that the traffic is being affected on the GST Road regularly.” 

When contacted Urapakkam panchayat secretary K Karunakaran said: “We are searching for a dump yard for the past few years but couldn’t find a suitable place. Now we are forced to dump the garbage collected from households on the roadside. Once in a month we clear them and dump it in the yard near Singaperumal Koil.” He said that in a few months a permanent place will be allocated to put an end to present plight.