Thalambur residents want dump yard near lake removed

Chennai: Residents of Thalambur, a bustling residential neighbourhood off the IT corridor, outside Chennai corporation limits have taken it upon themselves to save Thalambur lake — a 100 acre waterbody from becoming an indiscriminate garbage dumping ground.
Residents have appealed to the Chengalpet district collector to intervene and shift the garbage dump from the banks of the lake as per NGT (National green tribunal) guidelines and drop the plan of a proposed waste segregation unit in the periphery of the lake.
Residents who have formed Thalambur residents action committee met the Chengalpet collector last week and submitted the petition to take steps to shift the garbage dump from the present spot to another place which conforms to the SWM (solid waste management) rules and instruct the authorities concerned from undertaking any construction activity on the periphery of the lake like building a wall or putting up a waste segregation plant which is against NGT ruling and in violation of the SWM rules.
According to Anbu Vahini, a resident, the gated communities around Thalambur have formed a common forum to address various issues and one of the decisions taken recently is to examine and implement solid waste segregation within the communities.
Residents said that the garbage dump is close to the western banks of the lake which is unbounded and is on private land abutting the lake. “Apart from household garbage, medical waste, animal waste and building debris are also periodically dumped there,” Anbu Vahini said adding that there is a high risk of the garbage getting mixed with the lake water and contaminating it.
Thiruporur MLA, S S Balaji of the VCK too took to Twitter to address the issue and tweeted pictures of the polluted lake. Residents also brought up the issue of indiscriminate sand mining at the location and nearby areas, which has enabled an easy pathway for garbage to drain into the lake.