Kodungaiyur dumpyard spews smoke, fume residents

On Monday morning, residents around the Kodungaiyur dumpyard, miasmic in the best of times, were left gasping for breath after an extra dose of smoke engulfed their homes. Motorists too found it hard to ride by.

“Around 11 a.m., I felt suffocated and realised smoke was all over the house. When I looked out, I found the garbage heap on fire. I closed the doors and windows and stayed inside,” said Nandini, in a tenement opposite the dumpyard.

Ganesan Perumal of Krishnamoorthy Nagar said the smoke persisted till 3 p.m.

He claimed that garbage was usually on fire at night, evidently referring to the fiery embers. “As most of us are asleep, we don’t realise it. Even if we complain, there is no action. So we adjust to it,”

Muthuraj, an autorickshaw driver, said, “My eyes were burning. When I confronted them, the security guards at the yard just walked away stating they don’t know anything.”

Corporation officials said they were not merely dumping garbage but levelling it along with debris to prevent fire.

“There has not been any large-scale smoke or fire thanks to this method. Besides, we keep water trucks ready through the day to tackle any fire,” said an official.