TIRUPPUR: Police on Tuesday detained more than 180 villagers, including 80 women, who staged a road blockade in Uthukuli against the dumping of garbage in an abandoned stone quarry at Velliampalayam.
In the morning, Tiruppur Corporation staff were engaged in transporting waste collected from the wards and unloading it in the quarry. On learning this, over a hundred residents gathered near Pettikadai bus stop on the Uthukuli–Tiruppur road and blocked traffic, demanding an immediate halt to the dumping. Vehicular movement was disrupted for several hours.
Police personnel from Uthukuli, along with corporation officials, rushed to the spot and held talks with the protestors. The villagers insisted that dumping waste in the quarry would lead to environmental degradation and groundwater contamination. They also demanded an all-party meeting to discuss the issue.
Officials assured them that the matter would be placed before the district administration. However, when the protestors refused to disperse, the police forcibly removed 180 people and lodged them in four private halls in Kangeyam. They were released later in the evening.
“Garbage was dumped on Tuesday with proper permission at an abandoned stone quarry in Velliampalayam. Garbage dumping operations were temporarily halted on Tuesday due to public protest. A meeting will be held on Wednesday under the leadership of the District Collector and appropriate action will be taken in this regard,” a senior Tiruppur Corporation official said.
“To find a permanent solution to this problem, the Corporation is working on setting up a Bio-CNG plant, a Waste-to-Energy cluster and a Material Recovery Facility Centre,” the official added.
According to Corporation sources, nearly 600 to 700 tonnes of waste are generated from its wards every day. Of this, 110 tonnes are processed at Micro Composting Centres, while around 150 tonnes are sent to recycling projects. The rest are being dumped in stone quarries.