Irresponsible disposal of waste plagues Chitlapakkam

CHENNAI: Despite sanitary workers collecting garbage daily at Thirumangai Mannan Street in Chitlapakkam, residents dump waste and tree branches in an open space which remain there for a long time. It has led to an increase in mosquito menace in the area and many locals often fall sick due to it. What worry people is that though complaints are raised against the issue to the concerned department no action has been taken.

“There used to be a dustbin placed in the area and later removed by the civic authorities after the door-to-door garbage collection system is regulated. As they come early daily, residents miss giving the waste to these workers. Instead, they dump it on the road and the street looks messy,” said T Sukumar, who owns a provision store in the locality.

He added that the street has become a breeding ground for mosquitoes and he is unable to sit in the shop post 6 pm. Though we request the sanitary workers to clean the garbage dumped there, they don’t do it properly. Also, it is near the electrical junction box even the workers from EB promised it will be cleared, but no steps have been taken till now.

During the rains, the road gets flooded and the garbage floats in the water. We are forced to walk in the dirty water and it leads to various diseases, including skin problems. Locals throw away broken tree branches on the street. In addition, the uncovered storm water drain (SWD) makes the situation even worse for the residents.

“As it overflows when there is intense rainfall. With monsoon ahead in the next two months, locals fear of inundation even this year due to plastic waste floating inside the drain. As there is tremendous change in the weather conditions and we need to stay alert during the rainy days and we fear inundation due to the choked canal,” said a resident of Thirumangai Mannan Street.

When contacted, a senior official of Tambaram Corporation said that if people are dumping garbage on the road without giving it during the door-to-door collection, fine will be imposed. He ensured steps will be taken immediately to address the menace.