Citizen Connect: Poor trash collection irks Vadapalani residents

Residents of Lingam Street in Vadapalani have been complaining that the locality is not being maintained properly by the sanitary workers. The street is narrow and inaccessible to heavy vehicles which is why trash-collecting Corporation trucks cannot enter it.

“Corporation officials removed the bin from here a few months ago and said that sanitary workers will come and collect the garbage regularly. But the workers come here only once a week. We cannot store trash in our homes for a whole week. There is no dustbin nearby to dispose the garbage, so, we are forced to throw the waste on the road,” said Santhosh M, a resident of Lingam street.

Locals said that there has been an increase in the number of stray dogs in the area as they get attracted by the food waste in the trash. Some residents find the dogs scary. When the issue was taken up with the concerned authorities, they promised to act, it has been a month since but nothing has happened till date, claimed the residents.

“Open decaying garbage poses a lot of health risks too. The situation becomes worse when it rains. When the street gets flooded, the waste floats around in the water. Sanitary workers are not bothered to clean the waste on the road, even if we ask them to, they ignore us and walk away,” said Govarthini KV, a college student who lives in the area.

When contacted, a corporation official said, “We were instructed to remove the dustbin from the locality and follow a system of collecting waste by sanitary workers twice a day. We have not received any complaint by the residents, but will look into the matter soon.”