UT Matters: Poorly maintained vacant plots turn into garbage dumping grounds in Oulgaret

Scores of vacant plots in several residential localities in the Oulgaret municipal limits have turned into sites for dumping of garbage and construction waste causing problems for people living in the vicinity.

Scores of vacant plots in several residential localities in the Oulgaret municipal limits have turned into sites for dumping of garbage and construction waste causing problems for people living in the vicinity.

Despite repeated appeals by municipal authorities to owners of unused land to keep their plots clean and fence them, the owners continue to flout the rules giving room for the public to conveniently dump garbage.  

The plots are filled with garbage, old clothes, plastic waste, and construction debris and the stench emanating from them has made life miserable for residents.

According to A. Arasu Kumar, a resident of Kamban Nagar, “Heaps of garbage are dumped daily in the vacant plot that is located near my house. The problem gets worse during the monsoon. Leftover foods are also dumped in the area. While stray dogs naturally get attracted to the garbage and rummage through whatever they find, it is the residents who suffer.”

“The debris from residential buildings under construction and civic works undertaken by contractors are also dumped at these vacant sites. The plot owners seldom check their properties that have been lying unutilised for years and the neighbours are always at the risk of health hazards,” said C. Karthikeyan, a resident.

The municipal authorities should play a proactive role and ensure that these vacant plots are not utilised in a wrong manner. They should also place the onus on plot owners to maintain their properties and issue notices if they fail to follow the directives, a section of residents said.

A senior official of the Local Administration Department said that people were to be blamed for dumping waste indiscriminately. Though the Swachatha Corporation entrusted with the task of cleaning and disposal of solid waste has put in place auto trolleys for door-to-door collection of garbage, residents bundle their waste and conveniently dump the near street corners or on the vacant plots.