Chennai: Garbage burning in dump yard causes health hazards to residents of Tiruvanchery panchayat

CHENNAI: Residents of Serenity Paradise, Tiruvanchery panchayat, Tambaram, have raised serious concerns over the piling-up and burning of daily waste collected in the Panchayat.

As their houses are located next to the dump yard, burning the waste causes breathing difficulties, and the garbage pile increases mosquito menace and contaminates the groundwater.

There are nearly 30 families living in individual houses at Serenity Paradise, Tiruvanchery panchayat. The land near this community belongs to the temple, which the panchayat has continued to use to dump garbage.

A resident told this reporter, “For the past year, the accumulation of garbage has been increasing day by day. To reduce the waste, it is burnt daily, causing breathing difficulties among senior citizens. The panchayat must take immediate action to resolve the issue and find an alternative disposal site.”

Echoing a similar concern, Kurana Gnana Moorthy, BJP state secretary of the Government Relationship Wing, explained: “We’ve seen vehicles collecting the garbage from Tiruvanchery and Perungalathur and dumping them here. Continuing similar practice will affect public health. After the election, formal complaints will be sent to TN Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) and the Chengalpattu district collector.”

St Thomas Mount Block Development Officer admitted to DT Next that they do not have an alternative space in the panchayat to dump the garbage. “Now, we’re using the place as a garbage transfer point, where weekly stored garbage will be sent to the dump yard in Kolathur and Chengalpattu,” said the BDO.