Urban News

The Hindu       15.06.2010

Tirupur waiting for ‘modern compost yard'

R. Vimal Kumar

Tirupur: Even as Tirupur grew exponentially to carve out a niche for itself in the world textile map, the city is yet to have some of the basic infrastructure needed to keep the area clean and hygienic. One of them is ‘modern compost yard', a project that was conceptualised many years ago but did not take off owing to bureaucratic red-tapism.

No-objection certificate

Interestingly, no-objection certificate for the project had been issued by Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board and Indian Air Force (since the yard comes 20 km within the radius of Sulur air station) a few years ago.

Because of the inordinate delay in setting up the ‘modern compost yard' Corporation health officials are forced to dispose of the solid wastes generated at the rate of 420 tonnes a day mainly into open pits near Velliyangadu causing enormous health hazards.

In the last one year itself, residents in the nearby areas staged umpteen agitations to protest against the menace of rats, flies and foul smell owing to the indiscriminate dumping.

Anti-fly measures

Though the Corporation officials claim that they had started taking anti-fly measures and covering the wastes dumped with a layer of soil on each occasion, people refuse to see this as a permanent solution, especially with monsoon to set in soon.

Solution

“Only a ‘modern compost yard' can provide a comprehensive solution,” they say.

The Corporation officials told The Hindu that a detailed project report for the yard would be readied soon and that it would come up on a sprawling 25-acre plot at Iduvai.

Live fencing

The facility would have land fill sites, live fencing (greenery), space for recycling the wastes into manure and resting shed for sanitary inspectors, said the officials.

“The manure produced will be sold commercially while the other inert materials be land-filled safely,” they said.

The Hindu      14.06.2010

Adequate solid waste management still elusive

K. Lakshmi

— Photo: K. Pichumani

SHRINKING SPACE: Solid waste management is a challenging task in the western suburbs. A view of the garbage dumping yard at Athipattu, which is running out of space.

CHENNAI: Areas in the western fringes of the city along the CTH Road share a common woe — that of inadequate solid waste management. Ambattur and Avadi together generate over 380 tonnes of garbage everyday, making management of growing amount of solid waste a challenging task for the local bodies.

Over the last one year, Ambattur has witnessed an increase of 25 tonnes and Avadi 15 tonnes, which is proof enough for the fast track to development in the localities.

Residents of these municipalities said measures taken to segregate garbage at source, at a household level has not progressed much as the municipalities do not have sufficient space for composting.

People of Gnanamurthy Nagar, Vijayalakshmipuram, Mogappair West and Krishnapuram in Ambattur complained that the garbage was cleared only twice a week. The problem was intense in wards covered by Neel Metal Fanalca, private agency engaged for waste disposal.

Though source segregation has been implemented in few wards, residents feel less motivated as there is no composting facility.

G.Alamelu, a resident of Ambattur, said the lack of sufficient bins has led to using street corners as makeshift dumping yards. Though the waste collection has been privatised in 25 of the 52 wards, it has not helped much in making the locality garbage-free.

R.Sekar, a resident of Avadi, said vacant plots also become easy targets for dumping garbage posing a health risk to the people.

Officials of Ambattur municipality said the long-pending issue of setting up a compost yard at Kuthambakkam is soon expected to be solved. The 65-acre facility will be shared along with local bodies of Poonamallee, Thiruverkadu, Valasaravakkam and Maduravoyal.

Application for clearance from state level Environment Impact Assessment Authority would be submitted by this month end. Tendering process is set to begin in two months after public hearing. The detailed project report for integrated SWM in the area is also under evaluation.

“It will take about 8-10 months to set up the facility. We will have to manage with the limited space at the Athipattu dumping yard till then. The tall mound of garbage in the facility is being levelled to provide additional space for disposal,” the official said.

The municipality received complaints about poor waste clearance by Neel Metal Fanalca, particularly in areas such as Ambattur industrial estate and Mogappair.

The local body levies a monthly fine of Rs.2-Rs.5 lakh.

Avadi chairman Victory Mohan said the waste disposal problem would soon be put to an end as work is on to establish compost yard at Sekkadu.