Station Service Road in Velachery turns into dumping ground for construction debris, garbage

The road, once a favourite with walkers, has turned into an eyesore with indiscriminate dumping of debris and garbage at night; residents allege that even medical waste is thrown along the road

In the midst of the tug of war between the Southern Railway and the Greater Chennai Corporation over the maintenance of the Station Service Road in Velachery, garbage and construction debris is being indiscriminately dumped at night, say the residents.

The Station Service Road, constructed by the Southern Railway after much delay and running parallel to the railway tracks of the Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) from Velachery to Taramani station, is a busy stretch during the day. Of late, the road had become a favourite stretch with the morning and evening walkers. 

However, in the past one month, lorry loads of construction debris and other garbage has been dumped indiscriminately along the road. Pedestrians allege that even medical waste was dumped in a surreptitious manner. 

M. Sakthi, a resident of Bethel Avenue, said the road had become a dump yard for construction debris and garbage, especially at night. He said the Southern Railway should be allowed to take up the upkeep of the road to prevent illegal dumping of garbage and debris.

Sources said the Southern Railway had taken steps to install street lights on the Station Service Road for 2.80 km by paying ₹2 crore to the Greater Chennai Corporation after the road was inaugurated on March 21 last year.

The Southern Railway wrote to the Corporation in July last year about handing over the road to the civic body. “We have been regularly requesting the civic body to clear the garbage being dumped and the officials of the civic body have been helping in clearing the debris,” an official said.

A senior official of the Corporation said the road falls under two zones of Adyar and Perungudi with the private conservancy operator taking steps to remove the garbage. Highlighting the problem of garbage dumping, a senior civic official said zonal officials had been directed to install height restriction barricade at the entrance to the road to prevent the entry of heavy vehicles. The civic body had put up boards warning against dumping of garbage, he added.