Trash heap turning into dumpyard near Sholinganallur govt hospital

Chennai: A few hundred metres from Sholinganallur govt peripheral hospital that deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin inaugurated in Feb, a dumpyard is slowly taking shape. From wet waste to furniture discards, the roughly one-acre land adjoining the marshland is the new spot where garbage collected from Perumbakkam panchayat is dumped. Waste collected door-to-door from about 12 wards in the panchayat, nestled between Chennai and Tambaram corporations, is brought here. While officials say this place works only as transfer station and waste will be moved to landfill, piles of garbage in the area tell a different story. "The stench in this region is unbearable, and mosquitoes are breeding rapidly. If left unchecked, this will turn into yet another dumpyard," said Sagunan Velusamy, a resident of Arasankalani. Rag-pickers say dumping has been going on for three months now. A supervisor at the spot said that garbage is removed every day and taken to Oragadam landfill at night. However, when TOI visited in the morning, garbage remained uncleared. Three tractors entered the area and began dumping waste. Besides the hospital, a govt school, an industrial training institute, and a bus depot are near the spot.When asked why such a spot was chosen, panchayat president R Sugasini said prior permission was sought from the MLA and collector before choosing the spot. She declined to comment further."I brought up this issue at the gram sabha meeting, where I was informed that there is no alternative land to dump the waste," said K Sarangadoss, president of Federation of Perumbakkam residents' welfare association.MLA Aravind Ramesh confirmed the land crunch, but assured that the dump spot near the hospital was a temporary arrangement. "We have already changed four locations. We will look for an alternative land," he said.