Citizen Connect: Stone quarry in Medavakkam turns into landfill, residents demand compost facility

The residents, who complained that the makeshift landfill catches fire frequently, demanded the local body to segregate waste and turn it into compost.

According to sources, the district Collector allocated a site in Oragadam for dumping waste two year ago. After it got full, the panchayat has started dumping waste in the stone quarry.

The Medavakkam village panchayat is situated near Pallikaranai in Kancheepuram district. It has 12 wards with a population of more than one lakh people. The locality is developing fast as it lies close to the IT corridor along Old Mahabalipuram Road and has become home to several employees.

The Medavakkam panchayat generates 12-15 tonnes of garbage daily, which was earlier sent to Oragadam once in 15 days. However, the panchayat started dumping waste at the stone quarry in the past few months. Apart from the site getting full, locals in Oragadam have also been protesting against the dump yard which is why the panchayat started to fill the waste in the quarry, said sources.

However, Medavakkam residents demanded that the panchayat should not burn the garbage. They should segregate them as biodegradable and non-biodegradable. “The authorities should stop dumping of waste in this manner. Instead, they should set up a compost facility to convert waste and use it as fertiliser,” said Dhanraj, a resident.

The residents also claimed that new landfill catches fire often and the panchayat is using water tankers to douse it. “It is not a good idea to waste water when the city is suffering due to acute shortage. They should prevent the fire,” said a resident.

When contacted the panchayat secretary NS Babu, he said, “We need at least two acres of land to construct a compost facility and we don’t have a space for that. We are planning to collect the garbage and segregate it and hopefully, the district revenue officials would take the necessary steps.”