Illegal garbage dumping along the Tambaram-Mudichur Road near Lakshmipuram in Mudichur has reduced the usable width of the approximately 80-foot road to about 50 feet, affecting traffic on a major suburban corridor and exposing nearby residents and students to unhygienic conditions.
The affected stretch lies near the boundary of Mudichur and Mannivakkam panchayats. The road begins at Tambaram and passes through Krishna Nagar, Old Perungalathur, Mudichur and Mannivakkam before joining the Vandalur-Walajabad Road. It carries heavy vehicular traffic throughout the day and night.
Large quantities of waste have reportedly accumulated on both sides of the road, with the garbage encroaching on the carriageway and turning the roadside into an open dumping area. Motorists, particularly two-wheeler riders and auto-rickshaw drivers, have told DT Next that they are forced to cover their noses while passing through the stretch because of the foul smell.
Residents have also claimed that the dumped material includes medical waste, although the report does not independently establish the composition of the garbage. The accumulation has affected an area where new residential complexes, shopping malls, industries and educational institutions are developing rapidly.
More than 5,000 students studying at two higher secondary schools located along the stretch are being exposed to the unhygienic conditions caused by the accumulated waste, according to the report. The dumping has therefore become both a road-use issue and a public sanitation concern for people living, working and studying in the surrounding areas.
The location has also exposed a jurisdictional dispute between the two local bodies. Mannivakkam Panchayat has blamed residents within the Mudichur Panchayat limits for illegal dumping and called for action against them. Residents, however, said they were directed from one panchayat office to the other when they sought intervention.
John S, a Mudichur resident, said residents were told by Mudichur Panchayat authorities that the affected area fell under Mannivakkam Panchayat. When they approached Mannivakkam Panchayat, they were reportedly told that residents from Mudichur Panchayat limits were responsible for dumping the waste and that action should be taken against them.
A Mudichur Panchayat official said steps were being taken to address the problem. The affected areas are cleaned once a week using an earthmover to remove the accumulated garbage, the official said. However, people continue to dump waste at the location during the night, making it difficult to prevent the problem from recurring.
The official added that residents of nearby apartment complexes and local traders had been warned against dumping garbage along the major public road. The panchayat said a permanent solution to the problem would be found at the earliest.
