Garbage burning continues, Pallikaranai marsh faces heat

CHENNAI: Indiscriminate burning of garbage continues in and around the ecologically sensitive Pallikaranai marsh, despite a Madras high court-imposed ban, affecting residents of surrounding areas and alarming naturalists. About 70 hectares have been lost due to the dumping of garbage and around 125 hectares, which lie on the southeastern side and have not been handed over to the forest department, are “up for grabs,” they say.
Activist S Kumara Raja said the Pallikaranai Marshland Authority’s programme executive committee, which includes resident welfare associations, multinational companies, industries and academic institutions and is to deliberate on various protection measures, has not met in more than a year.People in and around Velachery MRTS railway station, especially VGP Selva Nagar, have begun complaining of irritation in the eyes and difficulty in breathing, he said.
Clearing the garbage and declaring the marsh a protected area has been a long pending demand of residents and naturalists, but the authorities concerned just do not care, he said. The letting out of untreated or partly treated sewage into the water body, inclding by Metrowater, is another problem, Raja said.