CHENNAI: It was a shocking sight indeed: among the discarded materials that rag-pickers were sifting through near Elephant Gate bridge were not just the usual waste and garbage, but biomedical waste as well.
There were used HIV testing kit materials, urine collection bag, test tubes, syringes, surgical gloves and the like, all of which come with a stringent guideline about safe disposal.
It is not known who dumped the waste. A few rag-pickers told Express that most of the people in and around the area dump the waste there, adding that they were not sure about any particular hospital.
There are a few diagnostic centres and clinics located in and around Sydenhams Road, Periamet and also Wall Tax road, all of which are close to Elephant Gate bridge, from where the waste could have originated.
Speaking to Express, social activist Jawaharlal Shanmugam, who petitioned the National Green Tribunal raising concern over the callous disposal of biomedical waste by hospitals, said, “Unless every hospital uploaded statistics on its biomedical waste online, nobody is going to know the quantity or the type of biomedical waste they are generating.
The government should have an efficient monitoring system in place.” TNPCB officials were not reachable for comments.