Coimbatore: Open dumping and burning of waste at an abandoned stone quarry behind a temple at Pattanam and near a waterbody along the Vellalore–Pattanam main road have drawn the ire of a section of local people, who say the same has been posing various health hazards to them and polluting the environment.A group of residents of Pattanam village panchayat in Sulur block have been dumping unsegregated biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste near the waterbody and the abandoned stone quarry behind the Vasudevan Temple for the past three years. “While garbage is being dumped by a section of local residents, the panchayat administration routinely set the same on fire without making an effort to remove them from the area. Whenever they burn the garbage, thick smoke envelops the area, causing air pollution and breathing difficulties for most of us,” says a local resident. The village panchayat comprises Pattanam, Pattanam Pudur and Nagammanayakanpalayam villages and has a population of 38,000 spread across 12 wards. J Vasanthakumar, 30, another local resident, says the panchayat administration hadn’t taken any steps to address the issue despite them making several representations. “The accumulated waste is often set on fire at night hours. Many people are facing health problems due to the inhalation of smoke and poisonous gases. We had raised the issue several times at the panchayath and gram sabha meetings in the past three years, but in vain.” Another resident says the panchayat administration had asked them to suggest alternative dumping sites when they took up the issue, instead of finding a solution. The residents have urged the district administration to intervene immediately and ensure that the waste in Pattanam panchayat was segregated properly and disposed of using scientific methods. They have also demanded a complete ban on open burning of garbage in public places. When contacted, the panchayat president and administration officers were not willing to comment on the issue. Sulur block development officer R Muthuraju, however, said they hadn’t received any complaint on open dumping and burning of waste from the residents so far. ‘I will visit the area in person and take necessary steps to control open dumping of garbage by fixing surveillance cameras.” He also requested the residents to segregate garbage and hand the same over to the sanitary workers during the door-to-door garbage collection drive.
