CHENNAI: Dump yard as burial site has raised the hackles of residents in Kodungaiyur in North Chennai. The city corporation has carved out a nine acre land in the Kodungaiyur dump yard as burial ground, despite a hue and cry from the local populace.
Faced with space crunch and non-availability of land, the civic body had recently decided to set up a burial ground inside the Kodungaiyur dump yard. Though the search was on since 2015, acquiring a suitable land has not fructified. As such, authorities have decided to use the land within the dump yard on the eastern side, adjacent to the Metro Water Station as burial ground.
This has irked Kodungaiyur residents. “Earlier, when we had requested the Corporation to allocate this piece of land for a Moffusil Bus Stand for buses plying towards Nellore, they replied that the land was to be used for developmental activities,” said N S Ramachandra Rao, President of Ever Vigilant Citizens Welfare Association.
The civic body’s decision has come as a shock, particularly when they were protesting to shift the entire dumping site for more than 25 years.
“Most of the dogs inside the dump yard were affected by rabies. Things will worsen once these dogs turn into scavengers,” said Ganesh, a long time resident of Kodungaiyur.
Residents are also angered by the idea of burying the bodies of their kith and kin next to a dumping site which collects nearly 2,300 MT of garbage on a daily basis. If an electric crematorium is set in this site in the future, then we would have to bear with smoke along with smell of burnt garbage, Ganesh added.
The corporation’s move comes in the wake of increased demand for a new burial site, particularly from the minority communities who had to take the bodies all the way to Perambur, Vyasarpadi or sometimes to Kasimedu located 4-7 km away in North Chennai.
At present there is only one crematorium in Kodungaiyur area, predominantly used by the Hindu community with six to seven bodies on a daily basis. This is way too high compared to other crematoriums in the extended areas.
Hence, the Corporation has demarcated the burial ground to be set up in Kodungaiyur into three zones – for Muslims, Christians and Hindus – so that they would have their own space. A senior Corporation official said this would benefit residents of Mutamil Nagar, MKB Nagar, Kodungaiyur and Moolakadai.