THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Fly-tipping has become the order of the day at the NH66 bypass from Venpalavattom to Chackai and Muttathara to Mukkola near Kovalam, making the lives of residents miserable. People coming in cars and two-wheelers fling large piles of garbage in plastic covers on drains and service roads, which points to reason why there is a rise in infectious diseases, including Zika viral infection.
A four-member squad deployed by the corporation to nail and penalise the offenders at night is insufficient to wipe out the larger menace. Last week, a car driver was caught red-handed and was penalised by the squad for dumping waste at the bypass. K Subin Raj, a bank employee and a resident of Muttathara, said many residents are bearing the brunt of the illegal waste activity. “It’s a horrible sight and the foul smell emanating from the waste, including that of poultry, is unbearable. Waste dumping has become a regular affair. Despite our pleas, the authorities haven’t woken up to the enormity of what was actually going on. Some of the residents are already down with mosquito-borne diseases,” Subin.
The offenders make the good use of the absence of street lights and CCTV. “I happened to see a person throwing waste from his car recently. But i could not notice the car number in the darkness,” he said.
The situation is not much different at the service roads on the Kovalam-Mukkola stretch where the road is yet to open for the traffic.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has expressed willingness to clear the rubbish, provided the corporation installs disposal points on service roads. “At many places, we found waste on service roads and drains. Sometimes, we voluntarily removed garbage using earthmovers. However, waste dumping is happening frequently. So the corporation should come forward to curb the menace and we will cooperate with them,” said P Pradeep, NHAI project director.
Mayor S Arya Rajendran told TNIE that more squads will be deployed to curb fly-tipping on the side of highways. “Last week, we booked a person for dumping waste on the road. We will increase the squads so as to prevent such instances,” Arya said.
Meet to discuss streetlight issue on Saturday
To sort out the absence of street lights on the median of NH66 from Kazhakootam to Mukkola, the corporation has convened a meeting with NHAI and other stakeholders on Saturday. Mayor Arya Rajendran said the suggestions and other opinions that come up in the meeting will be taken into consideration. Earlier, NHAI had made it clear that the installation of streetlights on the bypass is the responsibility of the corporation as the stretch passes through city limits. NHAI had said that it would give No Objection Certificate if the corporation is ready to install lights.