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Citizen Connect: Periyar Nagar bus terminus doubles up as dump yard, health risks abound from burnt garbage

Residents claim that the practice of burning the waste within a government premises on a daily basis is unacceptable.

Citizen Connect: Periyar Nagar bus terminus doubles up as dump yard, health risks abound from burnt garbage
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The staff at the terminus sweep the waste to the corners and set them ablaze instead of clearing them

Chennai

The residents of Periyar Nagar are irked over the unabated burning of garbage that are strewn within the premises by the staff at the terminus.


Periyar Nagar is one of the well-planned and developed residential areas in the city, and is located between Kolathur, Perambur and Villivakkam. It is well-connected by train and bus routes. Perambur Loco Works railway station is the nearest station, and it also has a bus terminus on Jagannathan Salai which is used by a number of buses connecting various parts of the city. However, the bus terminus is in a sorry state of affairs, complain the residents living nearby.


“Waste is accumulating inside the spacious bus terminus every day due to various factors, including because of passengers who dump waste. The staff at the terminus sweep the waste to the corners and set them ablaze instead of clearing them with the help of conservancy workers of the Greater Chennai Corporation,” said E Karthik, a resident of the locality.


Noting that there are senior citizens, children and pregnant women who are living in the locality, he said the smoke poses a big health hazard to them. “We have raised the issue with the terminus in-charge several times, but no action has been taken so far. Instead, the burning of waste is continuing unabated,” he said. The practise of burning the waste within a government premises on a daily basis is unacceptable, added residents.


When contacted, MTC public relations officer Anbucholan said that MTC maintains bus termini that are attached to depots, while individual bus termini are maintained by the Chennai Corporation. “They are supposed to have separate garbage bins for both bio-degradable and non-degradable waste within the terminus and collect them on a regular basis. The practise is continuing at most of the bus stands and the waste is collected once in two weeks if not regularly. But a few bus stands do not have garbage bins and the waste is strewn around the premises,” he said.


However, Corporation Assistant Engineer Rangarajan (Thiru Vi Ka Nagar (Zone 6), who is responsible for the conservancy work in Ward 66 within which the bus terminus falls, said that the Corporation trucks could not enter the bus stand. So the staff at the terminus should collect the garbage and keep them outside the premises for garbage trucks to collect them.

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