CHENNAI : Heaps of garbage, debris including construction waste, factory powder, cloth waste, and even wooden cupboards have been piling up at the Elephant Gate Bridge. Despite the civic body’s intervention last month, the garbage woes at the bridge seem to be never-ending. The open space which has been left unmonitored could soon turn into a garbage dump yard.
The hawkers on the bridge share that the garbage is being dumped on a daily basis, especially during the nights. “Nobody monitors the bridge. It has made it easy for people to dump waste here,” said Suresh S, a hawker who sells mangoes on the bridge, which connects Walltax Road and Pulianthope High Road.
Poles removed
For the past two years, heavy motor vehicles (HMV) were denied access over the bridge due to its dilapidated condition. However, in the past month, poles that prevent HMV vehicles from entering the bridge were removed at the Wall Tax Road entrance.
This has allowed four-wheelers to ply on the bridge. ‘‘Cars, share autos, Tata Ace have started plying on the bridge on a daily basis, mostly in the wrong route,” said Sasikala M, a squatter at the entrance of the bridge. Bike riders who use the bridge feel that four-wheelers plying on the dilapidated bridge is not only dangerous for those vehicles but can also cause other fatal accidents.
Sriram S, a two-wheeler user, said the share autos and Tata Ace speed in the wrong direction. ‘‘If the two-wheeler riders are not alert, there are high chances we could crash on the vehicles coming from the opposite direction,” he said. Traffic police officials told Express that the poles were removed by the people who transport cattle. “There is a booth to monitor traffic on the end of the bridge, but this happens late night,” said the official, adding that they would start levying a fine from four-wheeler users passing through the bridge.
A month back, garbage was dumped only via tri-cycles but now, since four-wheelers have access to enter the bridge, the debris is dumped using the Tata Ace vehicles too, said locals. “The vehicles enter through the Pulianthope High Road end and dump factory debris,” said Murthy K, a hawker on the bridge.When contacted, a Corporation official told Express that the garbage would be cleared again.
The official added that there were enough bins in the locality. But, the garbage dumped on the bridge is construction debris and is intentionally done. ‘‘We can only collect the garbage once it is dumped but cannot monitor the garbage dumping process,” said the official.
Bridge to be demolished
The two-year delay in demolishing the bridge was caused due to TANGEDCO’s problem with shifting the electric lines beneath the bridge. Recently, the Southern Railways and TANGEDCO have come to an agreement in demolishing the bridge. When contacted, Southern Railways officials told that electric lines laid near the bridge are to be shifted to a nearby place. “Space has been earmarked for shifting the cables and once the TANGEDCO shifts the cables, demolition will begin,” said the official.
Garbage woes
The hawkers on the bridge share that the garbage is being dumped on a daily basis, especially during the nights. “Nobody comes to clean it and nobody monitors the bridge,” said Suresh S, a hawker who sells mangoes on the bridge.