Sanitary inspector's office turns into waste dump yard in Coimbatore

Coimbatore: They are sanitary inspectors who have to ensure cleanliness and hygiene in the city. But the sanitary inspector's office at Balasundaram road near Corporation north zone office has now turned into a dump yard for solid waste.

Corporation sanitary inspectors in the city are empowered to impose fine on people who are not maintaining hygiene in their residential areas. But these inspectors have failed to maintain hygiene in their own office.

The sanitary inspector's office is now being used for segregation of trash for the “wealth from waste” programme. “In the name of "wealth from waste” programme, wastes are collected from other areas and dumped in sanitary inspector office premises. Huge heaps of wastes are dumped for segregation in these offices. It is really unfair to turn a sanitary office into a waste segregation hub.

This indiscriminate collection of inflammable material in office premises makes it dangerous for the nearby residential area.” said G. Nagendran, social activist of Ramanathapuram area.

Worse still, the sanitary inspector's office has no fire protection system. These offices don’t have fire extinguishers. “This area has also become a storehouse of abandoned and broken corporation waste bins and waste collection vehicles, which have been lying there for years without being sold as scrap. During rains, the water collects in these vehicles and makes the area highly unhygienic and an ideal place for mosquitoes to breed. Because of the huge compound walls of office premises, the public is not able to see where the solid wastes are dumped.” he added.

Activists say that the sanitary inspectors have the power to impose fines on people who fail to maintain hygiene in residential areas. But who will impose fine on sanitary inspectors for not maintaining hygiene in their own office premises, they ask. However, Corporation officials justify the dumping of waste in sanitary inspector's office.

“Segregating waste and recycling are good. The sanitary workers get
financial benefits by segregating non bio-degradable waste. We are using the sanitary inspector's office premises for dry waste storage only for a few
days” said Corporation officials.