Citizen Connect: Conservancy workers use vacant plot to set garbage on fire, complain residents

Residents of Hastinapuram Road in Sembakkam complained that the sanitary workers are burning garbage collected from the area in a vacant plot which belongs to a private party. Though locals have complained to the authorities, no steps have been taken yet.

Though sanitary workers are not supposed to burn the waste in the locality, it has become a regular issue. Residents are facing many health issues due to this, they said.

“Sanitary workers have been collecting garbage from the locality and burning it every day for the past six months. Earlier, the municipality used to dump garbage in the Nanmagalam lake. But after filing several complaints, they stopped that practice. Instead, started to burn the waste,” said Praveen, a resident of Hasthinapuram road.

Residents added that the Corporation officials have not taken any action even after repeated and frequent complaints filed. “The locality does not have a garbage bin. 

We are completely dependent on the conservancy workers who clean the area and collect waste from door-to-door. But instead of taking it to a dump yard, they burn it near our homes,” said Vivek, another resident of Hasthinapuram road.

“All local bodies are required to maintain the required number of micro composting sites like in Tambaram municipality which has 25 such composting units. That’s the only way to sustainable handle biodegradable waste,” he added.

Residents also said that they are forced to stay indoors to avoid smoke emanating from the garbage. “Children and elders are suffering from respiratory problems. 

We have also seen them burning medical waste here. Besides the Corporation staff, we have seen anonymous miscreants also setting fire to the garbage piles,” said Krishnan K, another resident.

When contacted, a municipality official said that they would enquire and take requisite action.