“Everybody throws garbage into the river, though we know it pollutes the Vaigai, as there is no easy alternative,” says P. Eswari of Alwarpuram. She has just cleared her own bin into the Vaigai before hurrying back home. “I am making a feast as guests are coming. It is difficult to walk long distances to dump waste into a bin,” she says. She is one of the many who live along the river and use it as a dump.
Residents of about 200 houses here must walk close to a quarter kilometre in order to dispose their waste into a garbage bin which overflow during weekends due to the gargantuan volume of plastic bags.
B. Muthu and R. Vadamalai who live close to the spot where Alagar gets into the river during Chithirai festival, say “Madurai Corporation must keep a few bins along this stretch to keep the area clean”. According to them, Corporation workers come once a day and clean but this is not enough as the waste generated in the area is high.
Corporation Commissioner S. Aneesh Sekhar says there are 50 Swachh police deputed along the nine-km stretch.
One can often see mound of dung lying along the road. Many houses have erected sheds to raise goats and cows. The Corporation deems it a violation to shelter cattle without a permit. But no action is taken against those houses, claim the public. “We often see contract workers of the corporation sweeping the dung into the river,” says interior designer M. A. Muthukumar.
Several volunteering organisations such as ‘Enlight Trust’ and ‘Va Nanba’ help the Corporation in its cleanling activities. Both organisations say lack of awareness among people to be main cause of dumping waste into the river.
M.C. Saravanan is confident of a change in people’s attitude. “People call us often and ask us to clear the area. With increased awareness, this will change,” he says.
M. Rajadarshini of Enlight Trust, however, is more sceptical. “These mass clean-ups often become a one-day activity. It is hard to determine who dumps waste during midnight and early hours of the day,” she says. The trust is floating innovative ideas to prevent accumulation of garbage. “We have proposed the idea of constructing a fence of sorts along the river with the help of sponsors and after procuring the right permission,” she says.
This idea is, however, being contested by S. Suthanthira Amalraj, former Public Works Department Executive Engineer. “People will fling the garbage over the fence too. Educating the public is the best means but unless the fines are heavy, there will be no change,” he says.
Dr. Aneesh Sekhar says fines are regularly slapped and collected. He says a study was conducted along the Alwarpuram stretch to determine the possible locations where dumper bins could be placed. “The roads there are narrow. It is difficult to place bins. People must walk to the nearest bin as it is their city. However, if there is an overwhelming request to keep more bins in the area, we will consider placing small-sized ones,” he says.