The Hindu Business Line : Siruthuli moots alternate site for garbage dumping in Coimbatore

SIRUTHULI, a citizen's movement involved in a range of activities such as rainwater harvesting, waste water management and prevention of environmental degradation in and around Coimbatore, has come out with a suggestion for establishing a land fill site away from habitations to dump the urban waste (garbage) generated in the city.

The organisation feels that the civic body will not incur any huge expenditure by shifting of the dumping yard from its present location at Vellalore to the new site near Madukkarai as the additional distance for transporting the urban waste is just about 3-4 km.

Speaking to newspersons here on Friday in connection with the second anniversary celebrations of Siruthuli planned for June 5, Mrs Vanitha Mohan, Managing Trustee, Siruthuli and Executive Director, Pricol, said it was estimated that the garbage generated in Coimbatore every day was about 400-500 tonnes. Of this, raw waste would be around 300 tonnes.

She said Siruthuli had identified limestone excavated quarries near the ACC Cement factory in Madukkarai, about 14 km away from the city, for establishing a dumping yard. A geological study conducted there had established the suitability of the site. There were no human habitations nearby and since the land was rocky, the chance of ground water contamination was very remote.

Mrs Vanitha Mohan drew attention to the fact that the people of Vellalore have been on a warpath demanding shifting of the garbage-dumping yard from their place since it caused a health hazard to the people living there. The location suggested by Siruthuli was an ideal alternative since the quarries were located away from human habitations. She estimated that the new location could be used for dumping garbage for the next 20 years as the land has been excavated.

Referring to the work done by the organisation in and around Coimbatore for the past two years, she said Siruthuli had spent about Rs 2.5 crore in areas such as rainwater harvesting, waste water management, preventing environmental degradation and increasing green cover. Of this, about Rs 2.2 crore had been spent in de-silting seven tanks close to the city. This has helped in storing rainwater that was allowed to go waste in the past. Also, the water table in many of the areas in the city has increased by five metres after the initiative launched by Siruthuli.

She said during the second anniversary celebrations on Sunday, Siruthuli would organise various events at VOC park, including cultural events and distribution of saplings to institutions. It has planned to plant 1-lakh saplings during the coming monsoon season and LMW, Codissia, CRPF, Central Prison, Police Training School etc., have come forward to plant and maintain saplings in their premises.

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