CHENNAI: Ennore’s Kattukuppam village continues to be a dump yard for unsegregated waste despite the Tiruvottriyur corporation zone, under which it falls, has door-to-door collection, divisional composting units, and large composting yards.
When Express reported about the issue in June, the corporation had promised to set up extra garbage bins in the village. However, two months later, it remains an empty promise.
Near Kosasthalaiyar river, heaps of garbage, including bio and non-biodegradable waste is dumped in open land. Fishermen blame the civic body for collecting waste from elsewhere and dumping it in their village.
‘‘We have witnessed conservancy workers dumping garbage in daylight in our village,’’ said M Raja (43), a fisherman. ‘‘Who will take it from here?’’
While the area where garbage is being dumped belongs to Public Works Department, it is also difficult for a garbage lorry to enter the spot as it is just located on the banks of Kosasthalaiyar river.
‘‘They do not dump garbage elsewhere because political party functionaries live around Tiruvottriyur and surrounding areas. Since this is a fishing village, the corporation has no concern,’’ Raja said.
Meanwhile, open-defecation continues in the village as large amounts of human faeces are seen near the river banks.
Despite toilets being there, drainage connections run in the open leading to it getting clogged. In some places, drainage lines are broken too.
‘‘Our demand for long has been to have closed drainage system, but it has not been met by authorities yet. Toilets get clogged very often leading to many men defecating in the open,’’ said Anbu R (42), another fisherman.
Express visited the village and found that public toilets there have been dysfunctional and locked. ‘‘Nobody uses the public toilets here as it lacks water facility. There is nobody to monitor it as well,’’ added Anbu.
Officials deny laxity
Corporation officials denied the civic body was dumping garbage in the village.
Door-to-door collection is done everyday and segregated waste is taken to divisional composting units. It is the fishermen who dump garbage there, they said.
‘‘This time, we will clear the garbage again and set up bins. We will inspect the public toilets too and create awareness about public hygiene.”