Civic body dumping waste near Nanmangalam lake, complain residents

CHENNAI: Nanmangalam residents complains that the civic authorities are dumping garbage along the bund of Nanmangalam lake continuously. People claimed that the warning sign has been removed recently. Though multiple petitions are filed, the authorities are not concerned about the environment around the lake.

“The sanitary workers with the panchayat continues to dump waste near the water body. However, when a complaint was raised to the local body authorities, they refused and blamed the public for littering the water body. Recently, we spotted the panchayat throwing garbage and the board stating that no waste should be dumped here has been taken off,” said Praveen Kumar, a resident of Nanmangalam.

Two years ago, the panchayat removed the dustbin placed on the road. The public started dumping near the water body. During the lockdown, the situation worsened and neither residents nor civic authorities were worried about the water body. When complained about the issue, the local body stated that the garbage was collected and dumped in the dump yard near Guindy. There was no action taken.

“Earlier, the Water Resources Department (WRD) officials inspected the lake and ensured that the lake would be restored and would be pollution-free. But, till date there have been no steps taken and no further inspections conducted by the concerned officials. If the Nanmangalam lake has been restored, there will be water storage and an increase in the groundwater level around the area,” said R Jayakumar, another resident.

Local residents urge the government to act against the issue to stop dumping garbage near the water body. Also, there should be awareness creation among the public not to pollute the environment.

When contacted, the panchayat officials did not respond to the calls from DT Next.