Alleging that the existing dump yard has been causing severe health problems and contaminating groundwater sources for years, residents of Vellalore in Coimbatore staged a road blockade opposing the proposed waste segregation centre near the Pechiamman Temple. The protesters dispersed after officials assured them that their demands would be considered.
Coimbatore: Tension prevailed in Vellalore on Sunday after more than 100 residents staged a road blockade opposing the proposed establishment of a waste segregation centre in a densely populated residential area.
The Vellalore dump yard, operated by the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation within the Vellalore Town Panchayat limits, receives municipal waste collected from all 100 wards of the city.
Residents have been protesting against the dump yard for several years, alleging that it has caused severe health concerns and contaminated groundwater in the surrounding areas. They have repeatedly demanded the permanent removal of the facility through various phases of agitation.
Amid these longstanding concerns, authorities were reportedly planning to set up a waste segregation centre on Kappini Gounder Street near the Pechiamman Temple in Vellalore. As part of the proposed project, garbage collected from nearby localities had already been dumped on a two-acre parcel of land identified for the facility.
The move triggered strong opposition from local residents, who argued that they were already bearing the adverse effects of the existing dump yard and objected to the establishment of another waste management facility in their neighbourhood.
Insisting that a waste segregation centre should not be set up in a residential locality and demanding that the proposal be withdrawn immediately, more than 100 residents launched a sudden road blockade on the Vellalore–Podanur Main Road on Saturday morning.
The protest disrupted traffic on the stretch for over three hours before police personnel and Town Panchayat officials held talks with the demonstrators.
The agitation was called off after officials assured the protesters that the proposed waste segregation centre would not be established at the site and that the garbage already dumped there would be cleared completely within two weeks. Following the assurance, the residents dispersed peacefully.
The Vellalore dump yard, operated by the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation within the Vellalore Town Panchayat limits, receives municipal waste collected from all 100 wards of the city.
Residents have been protesting against the dump yard for several years, alleging that it has caused severe health concerns and contaminated groundwater in the surrounding areas. They have repeatedly demanded the permanent removal of the facility through various phases of agitation.
Amid these longstanding concerns, authorities were reportedly planning to set up a waste segregation centre on Kappini Gounder Street near the Pechiamman Temple in Vellalore. As part of the proposed project, garbage collected from nearby localities had already been dumped on a two-acre parcel of land identified for the facility.
The move triggered strong opposition from local residents, who argued that they were already bearing the adverse effects of the existing dump yard and objected to the establishment of another waste management facility in their neighbourhood.
Insisting that a waste segregation centre should not be set up in a residential locality and demanding that the proposal be withdrawn immediately, more than 100 residents launched a sudden road blockade on the Vellalore–Podanur Main Road on Saturday morning.
The protest disrupted traffic on the stretch for over three hours before police personnel and Town Panchayat officials held talks with the demonstrators.
The agitation was called off after officials assured the protesters that the proposed waste segregation centre would not be established at the site and that the garbage already dumped there would be cleared completely within two weeks. Following the assurance, the residents dispersed peacefully.