A peek into a riverside trash hotspot

Trash discarding on the Cooum bank under the Valluvarkottam High Road bridge in Nungambakkam, near Chetpet.|Image Credit: Lakshmy Harikrishnan

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Crystal-clear waters flowing progressively and showing the orange of a setting sun. That is the idle, almost-Pollyannaish hope of this press reporter on any twilight hour invested enjoying the Cooum with its slow waters thick as glue and too inky-dark to let the passing away sun on the western sky shimmer orangey in those waters. Scrubbing the Cooum spotless and turning that enthusiastic hope into truth would take the “hyssop” of an enormous governmental, inter-departmental, long-drawn effort. As the waterway takes a squiggly course through Chennai, it is weighed down by sewage and effluents. Releasing the Cooum of those problems needs numerous interventions.

Now, on its journey, the Cooum brings an extra concern in its knapsack: strong waste flung thoughtlessly on its bunds and most likely to slip into the waters. Cooum has an extensive underbelly marked with susceptible points through which trash slips in. A susceptible point is one where trash discarding is not just simple, however likewise appears natural. It supports the thinking: “everybody discards trash here; so why can’t I?” This intervention is fortunately more uncomplicated. Within Greater Chennai Corporation limitations, when knowledgeable about a susceptible point, one requires to notify the regional GCC authorities who would in turn direct the GCC-appointed conservancy company to clean up the spot. GCC may currently know numerous susceptible points around Cooum vulnerable to trash disposing, having actually been notified about it by the Water Resources Department. It takes perseverance from homeowners to make sure trash discarding is significantly examined at these points. Simply clearing trash frequently at these points is not a sustainable service.

One such susceptible point is discovered where the river streams under a bridge at Valluvarkottam High Road in Nungambakkam, not far from Chetpet. Tossing bags of trash from the sidewalk on this brief bridge is simpler than snapping a switch. A selection of trash makes it to this area, and typically the variety extends from family products to those with commercial applications, recommending discarding by a multiplicity of individuals, not simply homeowners close by. Look better and your eyes will take product packaging of a variety of brand names, highlighting the scale of discarding.

Devi, who resides in an area of Chetpet simply 700 metres from this trash disposing point at Cooum in Nungambakkam and takes the bridge every day on her method to work as a domestic aid close by, makes this observation: “the trash is mostly disposed by pedestrians taking the bridge at Valluvarkottam High Road; strolling through the location has actually ended up being a difficulty due to the mosquito invasion and the nasty odor originating from the collected waste.” Sajila.K and Siji.S, 2 locals of this area of Valluvarkottam High Road echo this belief. Greater Chennai Corporation has beautification plans prepared for areas along Cooum, and can’t the civic body created distinct strategies targeting these susceptible points?

Putting it in concrete terms, these areas might be developed in a way that the style discourages trash disposing; extra checks such as alerting boards and even a dummy CCTV cam might be in location.

All set targets for litterbugs

Trash disposing takes place in waterways from bridges, often the stack of filth dropped in a landing area listed below or silently flung into a spot by the side.

A Water Resources Department main notes that areas of waterways around bridges are typically targets of trash discarding. The bridge increases gain access to and those not residing in that area might likewise haul in trash to have it silently dealt with.

On Binny Road in Egmore, trash is routinely discarded by the side of the Cooum, at the end of the pedestrian pathway on the bridge.

A spot by the side of Adyar river listed below Thiru Vi Ka Bridge in Adyar is targeted by litterbugs.

WRD interacts such susceptible trash discarding points around waterways to Greater Chennai Corporation; and supposedly, it sends this interaction through Chennai Rivers Restoration Trust.