Construction debris pile up along lakes under corpn’s nose

Coimbatore: While the city corporation is speeding up the work to beautify the bunds of Periyakulam along the Perur Bypass, construction debris continue to be deposited on the other side of the road.
“People could be seen dumping debris along the road every other day. Corporation officials visit the place often to inspect the ongoing work. But, they never took measures to remove the debris or stop the polluters,” said R Muthusamy, a commuter. “People used to dump construction waste along the lake bund earlier. Now as the work is going on, they have started to dump it on the other side.”

A similar situation prevails along the Valankulam lake.

Disposal of debris has increased in the recent months as the corporation has turned a blind eye to the violation, Ukkadam resident Sameer Ahamed told TOI. “A couple of years ago, the corporation used to slap penalty whenever they catch vehicles disposing debris. Now, trucks carrying debris can be seen from afternoon till midnight. Sometimes, corporation vehicles can be seen collecting the debris to fill potholes.”

The corporation should slap penalty and seize the vehicles that dump construction waste, said Syed of Osai, an environmental organization. “Debris disposed in lakes occupy a considerable space, reduce the lake area and block storm drains when disposed along the roads. The corporation has set up several collection centres across the city to collect construction debris and has even arranged a vehicle to collect debris from sites. But the waste continues to be disposed in public places, mainly due to lack of awareness. Public should co-operate with the officials to conserve nature.”

Meanwhile, corporation commissioner K Vijayakarthikeyan said that steps will be taken to streamline the waste disposal process. A tender will be called soon to construct a plant to recycle the debris, he added.