CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) will launch a signature campaign near Kodungaiyur dumping yard on Sunday demanding that the Greater Chennai Corporation take appropriate measures to ensure a clean environment for the people living in the vicinity.
In violation of the new Solid Waste Management Rules 2016, medical and electronic wastes have been dumped in Kodungaiyur dump yard spread over 350 acres of land.
The campaign is aimed at exerting pressure on the local body to find a permanent solution to the health hazards faced by the people living there. The party would demand that the GCC take up immediate efforts on a war footing to address the serious health issues of the common man living in the locality, said TNCC president K S Alagiri in a statement.
Recalling the earlier studies carried out in the neighbourhood of Kodungaiyur dump yard, Alagiri said that the people living in area were facing serious health problems due to the unscientific disposal and dumping of garbage generated from nine of the 15 zones of the corporation.
“A study carried out in 2006 found nine types of chemical particles in the air. A 2012 study found 12 types of chemical particles in the air. The groundwater is also polluted very badly. Apart from this, the burning of the garbage has been causing an egregious effect on the health of the people there,” said Alagiri in the statement.
Of the 2,500 tonne of garbage dumped in the dump yard, only 200 tonne was segregated as degradable and nondegradable waste, he said.