The Hindu 04.09.2009
Burning waste dump along road causes concern
Special Correspondent
Photo: K. Ananthan.
HEALTH HAZARD: Discarded footwear and garbage smouldering at a vacant site off Pollachi Main Road on Tuesday. —
COIMBATORE: The acrid smell of burning rubber and leather emanates from a huge heap of burning garbage, about 100 ft from Pollachi Main Road. Traffic was thrown out of gear on this road on Monday, as a thick cloud of smoke caused poor visibility.
No assurance
The dump was smouldering on Tuesday and there was no assurance that this incident would not recur.
“This is because the spot seems to be a dumping spot for disposing of huge amount of garbage,” Madukkarai Union Secretary of the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam V. Easwaran said. He called for steps to end this problem in a petition submitted to Collector P. Umanath on Monday.
Located a km from the Vinayaka Temple at Eachanari, before Pollachi Road-Nilambur Bypass Road junction, the dump had all kinds of discarded footwear made of rubber and leather.
A few sacks of yellow powder, suspected to be a chemical was found at two other spots in the same area that came under the Seerapalayam Panchayat.
Suspicions
There were suspicions that this waste was brought from the neighbouring State of Kerala, Councillor of Kurichi Municipality G. Mahalingam said. “But, the dumping and setting the waste on fire seem to be happening at night, as no one seems to have seen any vehicle bringing these here,” he said.
Mr. Easwaran asked: “If the waste had indeed come from Kerala, how could it reach here despite the check posts on the way?”
A little more than a km away, there was huge heap of discarded footwear along a bylane, off the bypass road. A person who ran a hotel nearby said the dumping should be happening late in the night as no one had seen it happening. But, the dumping was causing a lot of inconvenience to the public, he said.
Reckless
The MDMK activist and the councillor said reckless dumping and burning of garbage was widespread between the Kurichi Municipality and the Madukkarai Panchayat Union.
There were many spots, mostly open spaces along roads that were being used to dump all kinds of waste, including those from the chicken stalls.
