Some of the unguarded stretches of the arterial Thamarassery Ghat Road which were cleaned up in a drive undertaken by environmental activists not long ago, have been turned into dumping yards again by insensible motorists and passers-by. Food waste and plastic covers have accumulated along the mountain pass.
Following the stoppage of dining-in service in hotels, the vacant spaces along the ghat road have been in use as a convenient space for eating food bought as parcel. According members of the Ghat Road Protection Committee, food wrappers and other waste materials are dumped along the road after wayside dining by unscrupulous people.
Since the start of the national lockdown, a large number of motorists on the stretch have been using the wayside space to throw the waste materials they carry. Owing to the lockdown, there has been a considerable decrease in the surveillance measures by local residents, turning the situation favourable to miscreants.
“I have seen drivers recklessly throwing waste bundles into the gorge as if they were using a public waste bin. There are also small vehicles which are used to discard waste from houses,” said Dominic Jose, a truck-driver from Thamarassery. “There were also occasions when we noticed the registration number of such vehicles and handed them over to the Ghat Road Protection Committee members,” he said.
Though Closed Circuit Television cameras have been installed at some of the stretches to monitor vehicles, these are practically non-functional. In addition, there are no sufficient number of cameras in some of the vulnerable stretches closer to Adivaram.
A member of the Ghat Road Protection Committee said the road was spruced up very recently after clearing huge quantities of waste and plastic materials with public support.
“We will be compelled to act stern on the spot if the motorists keep challenging our efforts and spoiling the beauty of this location,” he warned.