Even photos fail to move officials to act on biomed waste dumping at Nazarathpettai

The biomedical waste, including medicine bottles, tablets, gloves, and masks, dumped on the Outer Ring Road of Nazarathpettai looks like a huge hillock, part of it in a burnt condition. “This has become a regular problem in the area. Instead of taking the medical waste to the incinerators, they are dumping them into empty plots during night and also set them on fire. The residents here are using this place to dump garbage, which is being cleared by sanitary workers every day. But they don’t wear any gloves to collect the waste – what if a syringe hurts them,” asked Vendhan N, a resident of Nazarathpettai.

“We suspect it is the clinics in the locality that have dumped their waste into the canal instead of giving it to the contractors, who collect them from every hospitals and clinics and dispose them,” he added. When the residents complained to the local panchayat with a photograph showing trucks with the waste, the officials reportedly washed their hands of stating that the area does not come under their jurisdiction. “So, we tried complaining to the TNPCB. But even they have not responded positively. Last time when we complained, they promised to inspect the place and clear it. But no action has been taken so far. They are continuing to dump and burn the medicalwaste,” said Purushothaman K, another resident.

When contacted, a TNPCB official said there were no CCTV cameras installed in the locality to find out who was dumping the waste. “If the residents find out such things in the area, they can inform the local body officials who would clearit immediately.”