The picture on the side is of the Velachery Main Road, where the visibility is reduced to near zero for motorists taking the stretch, thanks to the non-stop burning of waste at the garbage dumping yard of the Alandur municipality. This is an everyday affair and all pollution control laws [Section 3, 6 and 25 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 (29 of 1986)] flouted!
Close to 110 tonnes of garbage are deposited at the nine-acre (36420.0 sq.m) land-filling site located adjacent to the road by the Alandur and Ullagaram Municipalities.
The smoke emanating from the yard has not only brought down visibility levels for motorists, it has also been causing breathing problems and acute irritation in the eyes for residents, particularly those living in nearby slum pockets.
Officials of the Municipal Administration attribute the cause of fire in the yard, to the scorching heat of the summer and the inflammable materials dumped in the garbage had sparked the fire. It’s a surprise as over 50% of the domestic wastes in India are wet wastes, comprising of vegetables, food etc., which will not easily catch fire. And the surprising act is the fire catches only in the nights/ early mornings and not in the evenings or afternoons!
This is also slowly degrading the Pallikaranai wetland on the opposite side of the road, and eutrophication is setting in!
An article appeared recently in the Hindu on this very menace, with my name quoted in! You could look up the following link if you so desire!
http://www.hindu.com/2008/05/16/stories/2008051659100400.htm
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