COIMBATORE: Although the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) has been taking numerous measures to clear the waste across the city and create awareness among people to stop open dumping, garbage piles can be found on several streets.
The CCMC has put up warning sign boards and a piece of cloth to prevent people from dumping in the open. However, many of them, violating the rules, still dump their garbage near the sign boards.
Currently, the civic body has turned its attention to the water crisis rather than the garbage problem. In summer the city has to grapple with water shortage issues too.
Out of the 1,200 tonnes of garbage generated daily, only around 500 tonnes is getting segregated. The corporation is collecting Solid Waste Management User Charges (SUC) based on the building square feet and garbage generated by individuals. Despite that the solid waste management continues to be a challenge.
“The open dumping of waste has become a major concern, with garbage piles cropping up across the city. Not only does this spoil the city’s aesthetic appeal, but it also pollutes the air, soil, and water bodies, endangering public health and local ecosystems. Moreover, the indiscriminate disposal of waste often leads to clogged drains and flooding during the monsoon season, exacerbating the city’s rainwater drain infrastructure woes,” said J Mithun Chakravarthy, a resident of Ram Nagar.
The CCMC has taken proactive measures to curb open dumping. It has intensified its efforts to raise awareness among citizens about the importance of proper waste management practices such as handing over segregated garbage to the sanitary workers.
Social activists have come down heavily on the CCMC for not taking stringent action.
S Vivin Saravan, a social activist from Gandhipark, told TNIE, “The CCMC doesn’t have proper equipment to clear the garbage on and off the streets. Their sanitary labourers lack proper training. The CCMC has turned a blind eye towards open dumping by not slapping hefty fines or filing criminal charges against the violators. It should take quick action on people’s complaints. The CCMC must install CCTV cameras at hotspots and find out the culprits who are involved in open dumping. Instead of Smart City, Coimbatore is looking more like a garbage city. And that needs to be changed.”
CCMC Commissioner M Sivaguru Prabakaran said that he would take necessary action to curb the problem soon. “The CCMC will be assigning sanitary workers at hotspots to monitor open dumping and also start imposing fines against people violating the rule,” the Commissioner said.