Thanjai dumping yard to be turned into housing area for sanitary staff

The residents from Thanjavur would soon heave a great sigh of relief from the stench, fire and environmental issues emitting from the garbage dumping yard located in an area spread over 28 acres as the civic body resumed bio-mining activity at the yard and decided to construct a 1000 houses for the sanitary workers with full facilities.

The garbage dumping yard at Jabamalaipuram near Srinivasapuram in Thanjavur has been functioning for the past 20 years for dumping garbage collected from the houses each day. The garbage is converted into bio-compost and sold to the local farmers.

However, the non-degradable wastes have been piled up which posed a threat to the residents and there were a series of fire incidents in the yard during summer due to radiation and other factors.

Due to such incidents, there were a series of environmental as well as health hazards and the residents from Sekkadi street, Jabamalaipuram, Puthutheru, Mela Veedhi, Vadakku Veedhi, Reddypalayam and Singapurumal Kulam who have been living adjacent to the dump yard complain of suffocation and other skin diseases and have been demanding to shift the yard.

In order to end the problem, a bio-mining facility was inaugurated at an estimated cost of Rs 14.9 crore under Smart City programme and the works commenced in 2019. The works were later suspended temporarily due to the Covid pandemic.

Now with coronavirus case coming down drastically, the bio-mining activities resumed a few days back at the dumping yard.

“Earlier there was only one unit functioning but now there are four units involved and so the segregation of wastes would be faster and the works would be completed by the month of June.”, a senior official from the city corporation said.

He also said that there were 2.30 lakh cubic metres garbage accumulated in the yard and so far 60,000 cubic metres has been segregated through bio-mining facilities.

Meanwhile, the recent corporation council tabled a resolution for construction of apartments with 1000 houses for the sanitary staff.

The Mayor Shan Ramanathan informed the council that out of the total 28 acres of land at the dump yard at Jabamalaipuram, 20 acres would be utilised for the construction of apartments with all facilities.