Empty plots turn dumping grounds in Wards 80, 81 of Coimbatore

Coimbatore’s Wards 80 and 81 which consist of middle income households, builder blocks and apartments, also bare a unique appearance in the form of charred waste occupying empty plots strewn across the vicinity.

Mainly consisting of Subbaiya Layout, Perur Main Road, both the wards are some of the smallest of the 100 situated within the Coimbatore Corporation’s limits. “The wards may be small but since they are just developing, there are several empty plots that have been bought but continue to remain bereft of structures,” stated P. Shantakumar, a resident and one such land owner.

However, the ward also consists of Corporation-owned open space reservation (OSR) plots as well, that do not have sign boards or compound walls. These lands, along with private property, have fallen victim to open dumping by residents, who also resort to burning the waste to leave behind no traces.

“This mainly occurs because there are no officials or individuals to keep a check on how the plots are being used on. On several occasions, anti-social elements have also been spotted on the OSR land along the Perur Bypass Road near Periyakulam,” stated a member of a group of resident associations in the area.

The group has also identified around 15 plots in both the wards, which include two OSR plots, where open dumping of waste occurs frequently. A sanitation officials stated that residents have been resorting to dumping waste despite regular collection of waste. “Many-a-times, we go into the open land to collect and segregate waste,” a worker stated.

However, residents disputed this saying that waste collection remains erratic in the ward.

In response to the issue, a sanitation official of the Coimbatore Corporation said that wards generate very little waste due to low population but waste collection has been regular “We will look into open dumping instances. In recent times, waste dumped on the roads was resolved by the Corporation,” he added.