Chennai: Sowcarpet, one of the most popular shopping hubs in the city, is not a pleasant sight for residents and people passing by. The area has been facing a lot of issues regarding garbage. It does not have proper garbage disposal mechanism nor bins. Overflowing solid wastes and also clogging of sewage drains is a common sight here.
Sowcarpet has unclear solid waste in and around the area. The garbage is not cleared on a regular basis. Streets like Nattu Pilliyar Kovil street, Mint street, Amman Kovil street, Elephant Gate bridge, Audiappa Naicken street and Adhiyappan street, opposite backside of central, are some of the areas which reek of filth. The area is polluted with all kinds of waste materials like plastic wastes, vegetable wastes and also medical wastes.
Founder, International Human Rights and president of Indian Railway Utilisers Association, Ashok Modi, said, "The corporation is not working properly. The area has a lot of broken garbage bins and there are also open sewage drains where no proper cleaning has been done."
He said sanitary workers come only once in two days and when they arrive to clear, they clear merely half of it. "We have complained to the officials several times, but no action has been taken so far to remove the garbage," he said. The overflowing garbage causes a lot of discomfort, is very unhygienic, and leads to a spurt in diseases. People have to put up with the mosquito menace besides the stinking smell in the locality.
