As garbage piles up, Kaliamman Kovil street residents seek action

Madurai: Residents of Kaliamman Kovil Street in Vandiyur, on Thursday, petitioned the corporation officials to look into the sanitation issues prevailing in their area. They said that garbage has been piling up as there is no dumper bin placed in the area. Residents added that sanitation employees do not come for door-to-door collection of garbage, which forces them to discard it in open lands.

They said that the corporation officials, who come for inspection to Vandiyur, have not visited their area since it is located in an interior part.

P Sagunthala, a resident said that while the whole of Vandiyur has been neglected, our area is the most affected. Officials have been urging the residents to dump the waste after segregating into biodegradable and non-biodegradable.

“We are ready to do it. But since the door-to-door collection is not being done, we cannot keep the biodegradable waste for more than a day as it starts stinking. Hence we are forced to dump in an open land,” she said.

Drainage problem is worse in the area, said residents. While the area is yet to be covered under the underground drainage system, the sewage water is let into the open drainage.

J R Manikandan, another resident, said desilting of the drainage has not taken place for months and as a result, all of them are clogged, providing breeding ground for mosquito.. “All the sewage water generated from the area is directly let into the Vaigai River running nearby,” he said.

An official from the civic body said that there is a standing instruction to the sanitation workers to go for door-to-door collection every single day.

“We will find out why this area was left out and the issue would be sorted out,” official said.