
COIMBATORE: Panneermadai panchayat residents and conservationists involved in the rejuvenation of Chinnavedampatti Lake have alleged that the local body is dumping waste in a canal at Kanuvai which supplies water to the lake.
The mouth of the canal at Kanuvai has over 30 tonnes of waste dumped here without segregation. Water flowing from Kanuvai check dam in Thadagam valley feeds into both Chinnavedampatti Lake and Sanganur stream. However, the Kanuvai canal is allegedly being used to dump waste by Panneermadai village panchayat.
“A significant amount of garbage collected in the panchayat is dumped into the stream daily. Garbage mounds, rising several metres have formed, in a 1 km-radius. Unless dumping is prevented and the accumulated garbage is removed, the water source will remain unclean,” said A Gowtham, an IT employee. “Panneermadai, which means ‘stagnation of rosewater,’ was attributed to the purity of the water here.”
S Sivaraja, coordinator of Chinnavedampatti Lake Restoration Association and a member of Kaushika Neer Karangal, who has been working on rejuvenating the Kanuvai check dam said that source segregation of waste is essential to protect the waterbody. “For long, there has been no solid waste management in Panneermadai panchayat and they have been dumping waste into the canal.
We continue to stress that source segregation is the only solution, as the current practice severely pollutes water flow. The local body argues that there is no alternate location for waste disposal. Therefore, we are developing a solution where we gather the scattered garbage and transfer it to a safer site, after segregation,” he added. Sivaraja also mentioned that installing a fence around Kanuvai check dam area spread around 14 km, is crucial to protect it.
However, due to limited sanitation workers and alternative dump sites, the panchayat asserted that they are compelled to use the waterbody as the primary dump site. “About 20,000 people live in 15 wards of the panchayat. A minimum of five sanitation workers are needed per ward, but there are only 27 workers in total. Due to rising water pollution, we are in search of an alternative site for waste disposal.
We have identified a two-acre location in Thippanur and are awaiting permission from the district administration,” said Sathishkumar, the panchayat secretary.
Similarly, residents have also reported that the neighbouring Kurudampalayam village panchayat has set up another dump site in a residential area between Panneermadai and Thoppampatti. They are urging the district administration to regulate waste management to prevent landfills.
Ramamoorthi, the Block Development Officer (BDO) of Periyanaickenpalayam said both village panchayats manage around 8 tonnes of waste daily, collected from over 120 locations. He also noted that failure of solid waste management is a major reason to propose these village panchayats to be merged with Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation. In response, Sivaraja highlighted that some local bodies like Kaniyur and Kittampalayam effectively manage waste through proper mechanisms.