Coimbatore, Nov 11: "Even after several months of cleaning activity along the lake bunds, things haven't changed much! What has changed is, these days more volunteers are willing to join us or lend us a helping hand in restoring the lakes. Sadly, people's attitude towards seeing these lakes as a "priceless resource" hasn't changed. Opting lake bunds to dump all kinds of waste is intolerable. It shows the callous attitude of the citizens towards preserving natural resources" laments Manikandan from Kovai Kulangal Padhukappu Amaippu, an NGO.
As reported in SimpliCity last week, Krishnampathi lake bund has become a hot spot for dumping all sorts of wastes especially debris. "Previously, it was during night hours that such debris were dumped. But nowadays, even during morning hours lorries dump tonnes of debris like concrete, rusted iron rods, broken toilet seats and flooring materials", complains a resident from the area.
On November 10, the volunteers blocked a lorry that was about to dump a pile of debris at Krishnampathy lake. The volunteers alerted the Assistant Corporation Commissioner of the west zone who arrived at the spot and imposed a fine of Rs. 5,000 on the lorry driver.
"Next to plastics, these debris deface the lakes to a great extent. It affected not just the quality of the water but also stops percolation of water. In January, the City Corporation announced that a new recycling plant for handling debris would be constructed at Ukkadam. But unfortunately, the work has been going on at snail's pace. So far, no significant progress has happened, other than a compound wall that stands tall on the 15-acre site", pointed out Manikandan.
The City Corporation in January stated "The preliminary works on setting up an extensive Construction and Demolition Waste Processing and Recycling Facility through PPP Mode will commence shortly. A 15-acre land at Ukkadam has been ear-marked for constructing the facility, here".
"The solid waste management plant would be equipped to handle up to 100 metric tonnes of construction and demolition wastes. For the implementation of the project, Rs. 1257.96 lakhs has been allocated under the Tamilnadu government's solid waste management special fund.The investment on infrastructure which is estimated at Rs. 9 crores will be pooled through private investments. The operational and maintenance cost will be met through the tipping charges that will be paid by the civic body to the company running the waste processing plant", said Dr.K. Vijayakarthikeyan then.
"A tender was called for on October 28th, 2016, from private entities/operators who had applied for Construction and Demolition Waste Processing and Recycling Facility. Out of the tenders received, New way Engineers MSW Private limited from Chennai was selected on the basis of their lowest proposal rates", he further added.
But unfortunately, no significant work has been carried out so far. Only when the proposal becomes a reality, the menace of dumping debris could be contained, activists say.
As reported in SimpliCity last week, Krishnampathi lake bund has become a hot spot for dumping all sorts of wastes especially debris. "Previously, it was during night hours that such debris were dumped. But nowadays, even during morning hours lorries dump tonnes of debris like concrete, rusted iron rods, broken toilet seats and flooring materials", complains a resident from the area.
On November 10, the volunteers blocked a lorry that was about to dump a pile of debris at Krishnampathy lake. The volunteers alerted the Assistant Corporation Commissioner of the west zone who arrived at the spot and imposed a fine of Rs. 5,000 on the lorry driver.
"Next to plastics, these debris deface the lakes to a great extent. It affected not just the quality of the water but also stops percolation of water. In January, the City Corporation announced that a new recycling plant for handling debris would be constructed at Ukkadam. But unfortunately, the work has been going on at snail's pace. So far, no significant progress has happened, other than a compound wall that stands tall on the 15-acre site", pointed out Manikandan.
The City Corporation in January stated "The preliminary works on setting up an extensive Construction and Demolition Waste Processing and Recycling Facility through PPP Mode will commence shortly. A 15-acre land at Ukkadam has been ear-marked for constructing the facility, here".
"The solid waste management plant would be equipped to handle up to 100 metric tonnes of construction and demolition wastes. For the implementation of the project, Rs. 1257.96 lakhs has been allocated under the Tamilnadu government's solid waste management special fund.The investment on infrastructure which is estimated at Rs. 9 crores will be pooled through private investments. The operational and maintenance cost will be met through the tipping charges that will be paid by the civic body to the company running the waste processing plant", said Dr.K. Vijayakarthikeyan then.
"A tender was called for on October 28th, 2016, from private entities/operators who had applied for Construction and Demolition Waste Processing and Recycling Facility. Out of the tenders received, New way Engineers MSW Private limited from Chennai was selected on the basis of their lowest proposal rates", he further added.
But unfortunately, no significant work has been carried out so far. Only when the proposal becomes a reality, the menace of dumping debris could be contained, activists say.