Citizen Connect: Open urination, garbage heaps on Viswanathapuram Main Rd rile residents

Residents complained that the garbage at the spot is mainly from the Tasmac outlet in the area. Tipplers dump food waste and empty liquor bottles and containers on the side of the road even though the Corporation has placed a garbage bin there.

“Though the particular civic issue has been haunting the residents for a few years now, no steps were taken to tackle it. The food waste attracts stray dogs and cattle to the area. This puts the life of motorists at risk besides creating a hygiene concern,” MN Senthil Nathan, a resident, said.

He added that the Corporation workers clears garbage in the morning but it reappears shortly after the Tasmac outlet opens around noon. “Empty liquor bottles dumped here break and pose a risk of injuries to pedestrians using this stretch,” he said, pointing out that the residents have asked the authorities to shift the liquor shop so that the street would remain clean.

S Deepika, another resident of Viswanathapuram Road, said that a few restaurants on the street, too, dump waste there. “Adding to our woes, many men urinate in the open here. It is hard to pass the stretch without covering the nostrils,” she said, adding that women are afraid to use the street after nightfall.

“I have had experiences of dogs chasing me late at night,” said S Parveen, an IT employee working in Guindy. He said that miscreants use the area to consume alcohol even after the liquor shop closes at 10 pm.

A senior official from Rangarajapuram Corporation office said that the staff are collecting garbage regularly every morning. “The only solution is to shift the liquor shop,” he said. The official pointed out that their duty ends at collecting the garbage and would not be able to shift the liquor shop, which is under the State government.