Citizen Connect: Vacant land on Venkatesh Nagar Main Road doubles up as urinal, dump yard

Right next to the bus terminus In Saligramam, the huge piece of land has been attracting a lot of garbage from the vicinity. Ramesh G, a resident of Saligramam, for several years now, said, “The space has been a problem without a solution for us for over a decade now. Several passersby, too, halt near the spot to throw household garbage.” He added that the staff from the nearby bus terminus nearby use the space as a makeshift urinal. 

He added, “There is a small urinal for them, but they come out in the open to use this area.” 

Residents also pointed out that there is a girls’ school nearby and it gets uncomfortable and embarrassing for the students. The residents added that they have made several representations to the civic authorities regarding this. “But they haven’t found a solution to this problem,” said Ramesh. They added that the area had transformed into a vast expanse of thicket. 

“But that was cleared and pruned some years ago. The land belongs to a religious body and it has no fencing,” he added. The residents said that the space could have a cement walkway and it would benefit several senior citizens. 

“That would at least stop it from being used as a dump yard,” said a resident. A senior official from Zone 10 of the Greater Chennai Corporation said that the area is being regularly cleared. 

“There is no discipline among the residents. When they spot a vacant land, they throw garbage into it. The landowner doesn’t seem to care for the health of the residents; the least they could have done is to fence the area. We have been regularly sensitising them to keep the area clean and the animator makes rounds every day in all zones. We keep clearing it and they continue to dump garbage,” said the official.