Citizen Connect: Illegal garbage dumping outside Pammal community hall creates health concerns

Residents of Nalla Thambi Street at Pammal have a long-standing problem of garbage being dumped in front of the Pammal municipal community hall which is located at an important junction in the locality. The locals, who fear at the illegal garbage dump would cause health issues, complain that the local body is not taking action against the offenders.

Pammal Municipality Community Hall, which was by constructed by former MP TR Baalu, is surrounded by garbage ranging from plastic to food waste. “The garbage poses great threat to us. Despite a warning board kept by Pammal municipal authorities, people still dispose the garbage in near the gate of the community hall,” M Vasugi, a resident at Nalla Thambi street said.

She also alleged that a few hotels situated in the vicinity also dump garbage at the spot in the night. “It (garbage) not only creates a stink but also increases the risk of infections,” she said.

Another resident K Saravanan said that thousands of school children pass through the garbage every day. “The food waste also attracts cattle which disrupts the vehicular traffic,” he said. Even though a few Pammal municipality official pass through the street, they have failed to take any action, he claimed.

A senior official from the Pammal Municipality said that though they have fined several people for dumping garbage, the menace still continued. Though have put warning banner stating that those who dump garbage here will be punished, people don’t seem to respect it, he rued.

Stating that people should have social responsibility, the official said the civic body is planning to hold surprise checks to punish the offenders in the future. “We have to take some drastic steps to solve the issue,” he added.

The official said pamphlets were also distributed to the people on Nalla Thambi Street about the implication of dumping garbage at an open place.

P Kathir, a social activist, said that proper awareness should be created among the people. “Our unit also launched a campaign titled ‘Pollution-free Pammal’ for this cause,” he added.