The Hindu          01.12.2011

Survey of waste-tainted spots along Cooum

EYESORE: Solid waste dumped along the Cooum near Chintadripet on Tuesday. — Photo: M. Vedhan

The Chennai River Restoration Trust (CRRT) on Tuesday carried out a survey of the spots along the Cooum river where municipal solid waste was being illegally dumped.

The stretch from Maduravoyal to Chintadripet was covered as part of the survey. The CRRT has requested the zonal level officials of Chennai Corporation to immediately make efforts to curb such illegal dumping of municipal solid waste in and around the river. In some of the spots in areas such as Maduravoyal which are within the expanded limits of the Corporation, more that seven tonnes of municipal solid waste was being dumped in the river a day. The dumping of solid waste in the river was being done by residents because of the lack of preventive mechanism by the zonal level officials of the civic body, according to CRRT officials.

Some of the waste was being transported from the nearby local bodies and dumped along the stretch of the river in the areas that were merged with the Chennai Corporation recently, the officials said. In the old city limits, the dumping of municipal solid waste along the river continued to exist even after a mass cleaning programme, the officials added.

However, the quantity of solid waste dumped in the old city limits was found to be relatively less when compared to that in the merged areas. The mass cleaning programme along the Cooum was launched as part of the river restoration project last year. The programme focussed on creating awareness among over 70,000 residents living along the Cooum river in the old limits of Chennai Corporation. A proposal for sealing all sewage outfalls in the Cooum by May 2012 was also made last year.