1000 Of tones garbage burnt @ Vellaore
Smoke emanates from the garbage at the Vellalore compost yard in the city.On World Environment Day on Tuesday, residents in over 20 layouts in Kurichi and Vellalore will have a good reason to feel aggrieved.Garbage has been set ablaze again at the Coimbatore Corporation's compost yard at Vellalore, over 10 km south of the city. The problem resurfaces at a time when solid waste management is a burning issue in the Corporation. "Almost 70 per cent of the thousands of tonnes of garbage is burning," secretary of the Kurichi-Vellalore Pollution Prevention Action Committee K.S. Mohan said on Monday.With a tone of resignation, Mr. Mohan said that repeated instances of burning garbage and the resultant smoke that invades over 20 residential layouts have become a way of life for the people in Podanur and Vellalore."We have been suffering this for four years and still there is no sign of the solution promised by the Corporation," he said in a reference to the waste-to-manure and landfill projects planned by the civic body.The residents in Kurichi and Vellalore want the Corporation to look for sites on its own territory for the disposal of garbage.
Though tired of protesting, the committee would, however, lodge a complaint with Corporation Commissioner P. Muthuveeran at a function to plant saplings at the yard and surrounding areas to mark the World Environment Day. Mr. Mohan said that small fires were noticed over the last 15 days at the yard. Things turned worse on Sunday. As the wind blew towards Konavaikalpalayam and Mahalingapuram, these areas were severely affected. Driving was difficult as thick smoke caused poor visibility, he said. Mayor R. Venkatachalam said that on being informed by the residents, Corporation officials rushed to the spot.
Water was also taken to the spot in tankers to put out the fire. Mr. Mohan said: "But, it will take at least four to five days to control the smoke. Even if the fire is put out, the smoke will emanate from the lower layers of garbage in the dumps and enter the residential areas."Once again, the blame was being put on rag pickers. They were accused of setting fire to the dumps so that they could pick out some metal objects sometime later and sell these to scrap dealers.Mr. Mohan felt there was no point in carrying on with the blame game. Now that the Corporation had a waste management plan on hand, it should be implemented soon to provide a solution. The residents fervently hoped that no political bickering would stop the scheme.
