CHENNAI: Residents of Kodungaiyur wait for authorities to act over the delay in biomining in the landfill as foul smell from the facility becomes unbearable every passing year.
N Subramaniyan, a resident of Krishnamoorthy Nagar, also flagged frequent fires in the dumpyard, and said, “In summer, there is at least one fire in the dumpyard leading to severe smoke, and the smell becomes unbearable during the rainy season. We are suffering all round the year.”
He added, “Even relatives are hesitant to visit our houses due to the foul smell. We are also unable to go out due to it and the number of garbage lorries coming to the dumpyard has also increased in recent times.”
Neighbourhoods such as Nethaji Nagar, Krishnamoorthy Nagar, Rajarathinam Nagar, Korukkupet, Suseela Nagar, KM Nagar and Bharathi Nagar fall within three km radius of the dump, which has been in use for over 35 years now. Waste from zones 1 to 8 of the city are transported to the site.
Biomining in the wasteland has been used as an electoral promise in both urban local body as well as the Assembly elections. It is a solid waste management process that is aimed at reclaiming land for other purposes, but has been a distant dream for the residents of Kodungaiyur.
Members of the Ever Vigilant Citizens Welfare Association alleged that residents of North Chennai were discriminated against in a recent petition.
“According to reports, the biomining process is in the final stages at Perungudi dumpyard. However, it is yet to be started in Kodungaiyur. We are not sure why there is this undue delay despite the issue being an electoral one for several years now,” said NS Ramachandra Rao, President of the association.
Meanwhile, officials of the corporation claimed that the garbage sent to Kodungaiyur had been reduced to 1,500 MT from an earlier 2,200 MT. The officials added that the bio-mining process will begin this year and reflected on their plans to start an integrated waste management facility to ensure proper processing
of waste.