Madhumitha Viswanath By Express News Service CHENNAI: For many years now, suburban areas of Chennai have been plagued by the illegal dumping of municipal solid waste. Behind the Kundrathur Murugan Temple, however, it’s empty farmlands that have now become garbage dumping spots. Residents, who have not been able to prevent this illegal activity, say this has been the case for months. As the space behind the temple is secluded, private lorries are having a free run, polluting farmlands. Raw sewage is dumped close to canals that carry water to nearby farmlands where crops are still cultivated. Locals spotted two lorries at the same spot on Saturday which were waiting to take turns to empty sewage into the Adyar river. Local activist Pughalventhan V has filed a complaint with the CM’s special cell and also informed local panchayat officials. “I cross this stretch on the way to my son’s school. Around 7.30 am, I found lorries dumping raw sewage into these empty plots, which originally were farmlands. At the same spot, I found waste from leather and plastic byproducts dumped,” he said. When Express contacted officials, they said they have not received any such complaint so far. “We have deployed teams at various spots in Kundrathur to prevent such activities from happening. Last month, we seized two trucks which were dumping garbage. I will inform the respective officers and we will catch the lorries soon,” said a senior official from Kundrathur panchayat. The lorries have been incessantly dumping sewage into Cooum river near Vanagaram-Maduravoyal bypass towards Ambattur. This has been happening for the past three to four years. Thanks to repeated complaints raised by residents, police seized four lorries in past two weeks. Two teams, headed by Tiruvallur Collector, comprising RTO, revenue, police and officials from Thiruverkadu municipality have been working on this issue. “Lorry drivers had to travel till Koyambedu or Noombal to transfer sewage to the treatment plants. As it was far, they were dumping it into rivers nearby. Now, we have made arrangements for them to deposit sewage at Thirumazhisai STP. Close to 50 lorries make 80 trips to this STP now. Because of this, dumping has come down a lot,” said Maheshwari R, Collector.

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