A lone war against waste dumping

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Dr. G. Shyamala Kumari, an ENT surgeon working at a private hospital in the capital city and residing at Rajeev Gandhi Nagar near Thiruvananthapuram Medical College has been waging a battle with the local administration for the last 15 years.

The reason is that local hoteliers and several medical laboratories in the vicinity have been dumping heaps of garbage at an unwalled property as well as in the Cherukarakonam pond. Rajeev Gandhi Nagar is opposite the medical college KHRWS paywards and the area in front of Hotel Vasantham where the concrete ends has been the place where garbage has been dumped for more than a decade now. Locals have been disappointed with the support they have received from previous Congress councilors belonging to Pattom ward of Thiruvananthapuram Corporation in sorting out the issue.

But Dr. Shyamala Kumari told DC that sitting legislator K. Muraleedharan had made a provision to construct a drain from the Cherukarakonam pond which reaches Amayizhanjan canal at East Fort.  She feels that the Corporation authorities should ensure that the unwalled property at the colony which has over 70 plus families should not end up as a dumping yard.  She also said that the pond should be maintained well.

“Local hoteliers and private laboratories are dumping garbage every day both at the unmanned property as well as at the pond. Though Muraleedharan MLA had made arrangements to make a drain it is not a permanent solution”, said Dr. Shyamala Kumari who has met the three previous Mayors for a solution, but with no respite.

Local hoteliers and people working in the laboratory have been dumping their garbage including in their open drainage that flows to Cherukarakonam pond, a 52 cent property which once boasted of clear water owned by the Thiruvananthapuram city corporation.

Though long ago, the pond area was 65 cents, it has been encroached by private individuals including a section of hoteliers. Unfortunately, petty politics played spoilsport among the residents’ association representatives and as a result, they have not bothered to take up the issue before the authorities.

Current BJP councilor S. R. Remya Remesh told DC that some locals had encroached on the area which had prevented the Corporation authorities from constructing the boundary wall.

“Recently, the Corporation has sanctioned funds to erect the boundary wall. But unfortunately on all the four sides, encroachers have hijacked several cents. I will take up this issue before the District Collector ”, said Remya.