Residents of Veerasamy Street in Egmore raise a stink over garbage

Residents of Veerasamy Street in Egmore express frustration over poor waste management, leading to health hazards and flooding issues.

As you enter the narrow street tucked away beside Dr. Nair’s Bridge at the tail-end of Police Commissioner’s Road in Egmore, a pile of garbage welcomes you. A little ahead, a trash can sits next to a name board that reads ‘Veerasamy Street’ — partially masking it — which, residents say, aptly represents their gripe with the locality: poor waste management.

“Can you smell anything but garbage here,” asks V.R. Jayanthi, a resident. “This is what we experience every minute of every day.” Primarily a residential locality, Veerasamy Street is home to numerous women’s hostels, a school run by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), and a parcel office, which has been temporarily shifted to the locality owing to the ongoing expansion of the Egmore railway station.

The primary concern, residents say, is that one portion of the street has two trash cans, barely 50 metres apart, and one of them has been placed opposite the school, where a new playground is being constructed. “The placement of the bins adds to the stench, and it may adversely affect children’s health too,” says M. Sabitha, a resident.

Mythili Raman, another resident, claims the bin opposite the school was initially placed a little ahead of the street. “It was moved to this side only a few months ago,” she says, adding that a group of residents had filed a complaint against the placement of the bin with the ward councillor and the Chief Minister’s cell, but to no avail.

The street joins the Egmore High Road, rife with commercial establishments. “We often find eateries in that area dumping food waste here at night. The High Road used to have an adequate number of dumpsters, but they have been removed,” Ms. Jayanthi alleges.

The dumping of waste has led to rat infestation and mosquito breeding, residents say, adding that the monsoon is a “nightmare” for them.

As one portion of the street is low-lying, the rain would bring floodwater mixed with sewage and garbage into their homes, they say. “The road needs patching. It needs to be raised so we don’t have to bear the brunt of floods every year,” Ms. Sabitha says.