The Deccan Chronicle  12.10.2010

Oct. 11: The solid waste management (SWM) facility proposed in Kuthambakkam located close to the Chembarambakkam lake is “extremely unsuitable and technically not viable,” said Ms Almitra Patel, a member of Supreme Court constituted committee on SWM.

She said this while taking part in a seminar on “People’s participation and urban environmental issues” held at IIT-Madras here. None of the officials, except a junior staffer of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) has visited the site earmarked for developing a dumping yard to accommodate garbage generated from Ambattur, Valasaravakkam, Tiruverkadu, Poonamalee and Maduravoyal municipalities, she pointed out.

Reiterating that Ambattur’s SWM plan is flawed, Ms Patel added that official projection of the quantum of waste was also highly exaggerated. Municipality waste can be reduced to 30 per cent by keeping out silt and another 25 per cent by recycling all non-compostable wastes, she said. Waste generated in Ambattur would only require 1.5 acres for disposal and management, Ms Patel said, wondering if government officials would be prepared to live close to the proposed site.

Advising officials to consult Kuthambakkam farmers and dairymen on how they could benefit from city compost, Ms Patel quipped, “No one is interested in a low-cost permanent solution to end the garbage problem.”

Speaking at the seminar, Jayakumar, a farmer from Kuthambakkam said the public hearing conducted earlier was ‘farcical’ and only the civic officials were allowed to present their case and people were denied opportunity. Other speakers at the seminar, including city based social activist, Mr Nithyanand Jayaram, expressed fear over the garbage yard contaminating the Chembarambakkam lake.

Mr Ramkumar, an advocate who spoke on the legal aspects of SWM, said that the proposed garbage yard would further pollute the reservoir that is already facing serious threat from industries around.

Deccan Chronicle      24.09.2010

Sept. 23: Air pollution has for long had residents of Manali at their wits’ end and the problem shows no sign of letting up, with garbage still being burnt in the dump yard of Tiruvottiyur municipality.

After complaints from the residents, the municipality had directed its workers to stop the burning of garbage at the dump yard. But the direction appears to have remained only on paper. Several residents have reported that municipality workers persist with setting fire to the garbage since it is the easiest way to get rid of mounds of accumulating waste.

The residents have raised serious concerns over the dumping and burning of garbage near their homes being deleterious to their health and the environment in their localities. Nearly 100 tonnes of garbage generated in the municipality every day is dumped in the compost yard located on Thiruvottiyur Ponneri Panchetty (TPP) Road.

“Visibility actually drops to a bare minimum and the smoke makes our eyes burn. We cannot even breathe because it makes us suffocate,” said M. K. Elamvazhuthi, general secretary of Manali and Sekkadu Environment and Consumer Protection Welfare Association.

He said motorists, particularly motorcyclists, find it very difficult to drive in the stretch because they are blinded and choked by the smoke. “We have made numerous complaints to the municipality to stop the burning of garbage. But all our protests have fallen on deaf years,” he said.

When contacted, Thiruvottiyur municipal chairman R. Jayaraman said he would take immediate steps to prevent the burning of garbage. He said he would issue stern warnings to municipality staff not to set fire to waste collected in the area.