Waterbody conservation activists call for authorities to prevent dumping, burning of waste along Vaigai bank

MADURAI

The junk yards that are dotted along the bank of Vaigai river has been a long-standing issue that has not been dealt with any concrete measures by the authorities to break the habit of the public to litter.

Vaigai Nadhi Makkal Iyakkam chief coordinator M. Rajan charged that the Corporation only takes up cleaning on Saturdays which does not solve the problem.

“They have to undertake cleaning drives everyday as well as place dumper bins near households to prevent creation of hotspots. One can see people throwing plastic bags full of unsegregated trash while going on their vehicles. And with the walls being built along the banks, the dump is hidden from plain sight but we surely cannot turn a blind eye to it,” he said.

Further, he alleged that since the cleaning was done once a week, the conservancy workers in order to lessen the workload often were engaged in burning the waste on Friday nights. “This has become a weekly routine and it is definitely going to affect the health of the river,” said Mr Rajan who added that a similar burning of waste was spotted on the Vengadapathi Iyengar Padithurai near Ismailpuram.

Meanwhile, R. Abu Bakkar of Neer Nilaigal Pathukappu Iyakkam said that awareness among the public must be strengthened. “With the shortage of conservancy workers who themselves dump waste into the river and as Sanitary Inspectors are overburdened with the tasks of managing more than three wards, this issue will persist which should be rectified at the administrative level,” he said.

When asked, Corporation Commissioner Simranjeet Singh Kahlon said that the cleaning drive under the ‘People’s movement for clean cities’ is being undertaken periodically on Saturdays. “The Corporation along with an NGO would soon plant saplings along the bund of the river to prevent people from littering. The walkway along the South bank is also nearing completion and with frequent movement, the dumping is expected to stop,” he said.