Fire flickering amidst piles of garbage in the Municipal garbage yard near the Anna Arch is a common sight for the people of the locality. At times the yard billows out smoke suffocating the nearby residential areas.
But on Friday, fire of a much larger intensity raged in the yard. Huge columns of smoke choked the residents who were forced to take to streets. They wanted to take it up with the government so that they would be given a permanent solution for a long-pending problem.
Abiraman, an adovocate, belonging to Thendral Nagar in Vengikkal, said that people moved into the Vellore road and blocked the traffic after 10 p.m. "We took this extreme step as the columns of smoke thickened and the stench was unbearable. The air became highly polluted nearly choking us."
DSP Saravanakumar and Municipal Commissioner A.Sundarambal rushed to the spot and pacified the crowd. Fire and rescue services were summoned to extinguish fire in the odd hours.
Assurance
Ms. Sundarambal assured the people that steps would be taken to prevent such incidents. She promised them that she would find a lasting solution to this chronic problem.
On Saturday, earth movers were engaged to compartmentalise the huge mound of garbage in the yard and divide them into smaller heaps so that fire could be controlled from spreading, in case they occurred again.
When asked about the steps she would be taking, Ms.Sundarambal said that a method called bio caping was being planned in which garbage and mud layers would be sandwitched to make a heap that would not be easy for setting fire and trees could be planted on the top of every heap.
Apart from that, a private agency would be engaged to clear the decades old stocks of garbage in the yard. The agency would clear the yard at its own costs.
