Chennai: The service lanes of the 100-Feet Road at Retteri stink with overflowing dumpsters, and the culprit is none other than Greater Chennai Corporation’s solid waste management contractor, Chennai Enviros.The contractor took the waste collection contract for the recently privatized Thiru Vi Ka Nagar and Royapuram zones at 2,963 crore. Around 1,200 tonnes of waste is generated in these two zones daily. However, the contractor does not have adequate bin points to dump the waste, said R Saritha, GCC zonal chairman for Thiru Vi Ka Nagar. Hence, the firm has placed bins along the service lanes of the state highway to dump waste, which is then sent to the Kodungaiyur dumpyard.As per SWM rules, bin points, where a ward or zone’s waste is dumped and segregated, must be located at spots without people movement. However, here, they have placed four bins right at the Retteri four-way junction used by thousands of vehicles to ply to Madhavaram, Retteri, and Perambur.The bins are also blocking access to a flyover-underpass park beneath the Retteri flyover. The overflowing dumpster has sullied the pavements too, rendering them unusable.The waste also remains uncleared for hours till the night, inviting cattle and stray dogs into the busy service lanes. GCC’s solid waste management superintending engineer, P V Srinivasan, said they had some land issues in the zone. “We have instructed the contractor to remove it. It will be done by Friday,” he said.The contractor is also seen dumping unsegregated waste such as paper, fruits, vegetable waste, and plastic items altogether, causing a health hazard. Saritha, said they should ideally be keeping the bin points in interior areas. “It’s just a month since they took the contract, and we are finalizing bin points. We will shift to an isolated area,” Saritha said.The stormwater drain pits of highways are open, and the spillover waste is falling into them. D Neelakannan, president of the Alliance of Residents Welfare Association Chennai, said bins have been kept in the service lanes and the adjoining Perambur-Red Hills Road. “Hundreds of vehicles, including MTC buses, commute to Vinayagapuram and Retteri via this stretch. Commuters close their noses due to the stench caused by the dumpsters. GCC must remove them,” he said.Ramesh B, public relations officer, Chennai Enviros, said he will escalate the issue to the staff concerned.
Join The Discussion