Burning garbage raises a stink in Mogappair West

Chennai: The corporation might make tall claims that nowhere in the city garbage is being burnt in the open, but for the past three days, smouldering dumps of rubbish have been giving residents of Mogappair West a tough time.
Off the newly-laid Nolambur Main Road in ward 143, next to the Sai Baba temple, toxic fumes rising from burning garbage dumped at a vacant plot of land have forced residents of the nearby apartments to stay indoors.Though the local body has placed bins near the plot, they seem insufficient and it is the overflowing garbage that has been set on fire.
"The waste has been burning for the past three days. We don't know who set fire to the dump," said Karthik, a security guard from a nearby apartment complex. "We have complained about this to the local corporation official. He said he will address the problem," he said.
Dr Y S Rajkumar, who has been living in the area for the past six years, said this was a new problem. "I have never seen this happening here. It is a serious issue and the corporation must stop it at the earliest," he said.
When contacted, a zone 11 official said garbage collectors from the nearby Vanagaram panchayat were responsible for causing the fire. "The panchayat workers have not been sensitised about the hazard of burning waste. Our conservancy workers will never burn garbage," the official said, before adding that the problem will solved soon.
Senior corporation officials too insisted that the local body's conservancy workers are told not to burn garbage.
Residents in the area, meanwhile, are keeping their windows shut throughout the day. "Even if you open windows for ventilation, the whole apartment reeks of burnt plastic," said Devan, a resident, adding that garbage is also being burnt beneath the bridge across the Cooum that connects Mogappair West to Poonamallee High Road.