Residents protest move to set up one more garbage transfer station in Peelamedu

Coimbatore: Residents on Friday protested the Coimbatore Corporation's move to set up an additional garbage transfer station (GTS) in Peelamedu.
The corporation has announced its plan to set up three new garbage transfer stations – in Peelamedu, Kovaipudur and Kavundampalayam.
The corporation already has two working garbage transfer stations, one at Peelamedu and the other at Ukkadam. A GTS on the Sathyamangalam Road is undergoing renovation. A part of a burial ground spanning almost two acres has been identified for setting up the additional GTS in Peelamedu.
On Friday, more than 200 residents from Hudco Colony, Murugan Nagar, Mullainagar and Sengaliappa Nagar protested the move to set up the additional GTS.
C Duraisamy, a former councillor who was among the protesters, said to TOI, "The existing GTS itself is not maintained properly. In addition, garbage vehicles and trucks are being parked here. When waste is being brought, residents suffer the stench. Also, when the waste is segregated at the GTS, it causes more foul smell. This being the current situation, an additional GTS will worsen the situation."
But a senior corporation officer told TOI that the new station would not segregate waste. It would only encapsule dry waste, he said. "Besides the entire two acres will not be transformed to GTS, only 56 cents will be used for this purpose. At present, the existing station handles waste from the North zone and East zone. The additional facility will decongest the situation," he said.
The officer said meetings would be held with the resident's welfare associations in the coming days. The construction of GTS would be suspended in the meantime, he said.