The Hindu 01.12.2011
Survey of waste-tainted spots along Cooum
CRRT wants to curb illegal dump of waste
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.