The New Indian Express 26.11.2010
Koyambedu stinks as garbages dumped in the open
The Koyambedu market’s managing committee says it has no option but to dump the burgeoning waste in the open as the site allotted for the purpose has been encroached upon.
Rains have compounded the risk from the open garbage, fearing which the garbage is being cleared using extra lorries, for now, but authorities feel the measures are inadequate.
“The government has to take action soon,” an official told Express.
The market, in fact, has a site for a compost yard and a `550-lakh bio-methanation plant.
The plant, however, is non-functional, and the site has been encroached.
While waste is routinely sent to Kodungaiyur dumpyard, market workers are able to segregate garbage only after 2 am, whereas the dumpyard closes by 5 pm, leaving an entire day’s waste lying in the open. Ramky Group, awarded the contract for cleanup operations, says its daily work can be completed only if the market is shut for at least three hours.
There is also a need to ensure that shopkeepers use the allotted bins. More than 3,150 shop-owners have been allotted bins but less than 20 per cent use it, say officials. The rest of the containers are used for storing water.
Some are even taken home. The garbage is, therefore, littered around making the job difficult for the cleaning agency, they add.
