CHENNAI: Commuters and residents around Elephant Gate bridge were exposed to toxic fumes on Sunday after miscreants set piles of garbage on the bridge on fire. Two days have passed since the incident but Corporation authorities have neither cleared the remaining garbage nor held the miscreants accountable.
Abdul Gaffar, a vendor on the bridge, claimed he spotted a miscreant setting the garbage pile on fire on Sunday evening. ‘‘He dumped a few sacks of industrial powders, white in colour, and set it on fire immediately,’’ said the vendor.
Since railway electric lines run on both sides of the bridge, any sort of fire on the bridge could be dangerous. ‘‘He only set fire to the pile that he had dumped but the fire spread around to the garbage in nearby places too,’’ said Gaffar.
The bridge is currently filled with debris including bio waste, medical waste, industrial waste, cardboard boxes, cots and mattresses. As no authority monitors the bridge, vendors who sell mangoes, helmets, and clothes set up stalls on the bridge and dump garbage on the bridge itself.
Express had reported earlier this month that the garbage on the bridge remained uncollected and the bridge was left unmonitored. Since then, the garbage has increased substantially but the corporation has turned a blind eye to it.
When contacted, Corporation officials expressed ignorance over the issue. ‘‘We will send conservancy workers to inspect the spot soon,’’ said the official.
Earlier, Tangedco and Southern Railway had come to an agreement to move the electric lines beneath the bridge to a nearby spot and that demolition work would begin subsequently. Recently, slum tenements adjacent to the bridge have been cordoned off and demolition work is in progress.