Medavakkam buried under heaps of garbage

T Kishan Chand, a 52-year-old businessman, was so frustrated with the piled-up garbage in his street, Vimala Nagar, that he engaged a few temporary workers to clean it up. 

“The garbage is never cleared by the panchayat authorities. There is nobody to supervise the situation. There is so much garbage that the waste bins kept on the streets are always overflowing with stench all over the area. Whenever I approach the local authorities, they say that they will send someone to clear the garbage but till date, no action has been taken. I got so frustrated that I spent money from my pocket to clear the garbage on my street,” said the entrepreneur. 

Pearley S A, a 51-year-old cost accountant, explains how Medavakkam has changed over the last 15 years. 

“The traffic and population has grown manifold but the infrastructure remains dismal, particularly the garbage management situation. On windy days, the plastic covers and other items land on the road, making it difficult to even walk. We are worried that the overflowing garbage cans will cause mosquito breeding and lead to several health concerns,” said the resident of Vimala Nagar, adding that people too should take an initiative to put the trash in the dustbin and not around it. 

The story is no different in other parts of Medavakkam. “The lorries come and remove the garbage as and when they want. There is no system in place. The garbage piles up on the streets and since the panchayat has been dis-solved, there is absolutely no accountability,” said M M Nayagam, president, Si-vagami Nagar Public Welfare Association.