New dump yard poses health risks to Malumichampatty folk

Coimbatore: The residents of Malumichampatty on Saturday said the stench and smoke emanating from the dump yard in their locality have been making their lives miserable. Owned by Malumichampatty town panchayat, the dump yard is located off the Chettipalayam Road.
Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) officials, who received photographic proof of decomposed waste and burning of garbage there on Friday, said they have issued a notice to the panchayat board.
According to residents, every few days around five to six trucks full of waste is dumped in the yard. The waste is then burned at least twice a week.
Meena, a resident of Sion Nagar, said, “Smoke envelopes the house every time they burn the garbage. Because of this, our eyes start burning due to the irritation. It feels like we can’t breathe. Our children also get respiratory infections due to this.”
Durai Rafeal, another resident of Sion Nagar, said the area was stuck in between Vellalore dump yard and the new dump yard that was set up by the panchayat around six months ago. “Every other day, one of the dump yards start stinking or burning. In fact, two weeks ago, we had caught a group of North Indian boys trying to set the garbage on fire one night and staged a protest the next morning, but to no avail. It feels like we can’t breathe in clean air at any point in our own houses.”
Manimaran, district environment engineer attached to TNPCB, said it was the second notice that they have issued to the town panchayat on Saturday. “Dumping unsegregated waste and burning it is against the rules and law, because when you burn food waste it decomposes, emanating a stench and causing air pollution. If it seeps underground, it can cause pollution of water sources too. If they don’t reply or don’t start complying with the rules, we will take up the issue with Chennai headquarters for further action,” the officer said.