RAPID ASSESSMENT REPORT ON SOLID WASTE ISSUES Kotturpuram and Kasturibai Nagar in Chennai
THIRUVANMIYUR
INDIRA NAGAR KASTURIBAI NAGAR
KOTTURPURAM
INTRODUCTION EYES ON THE CANAL (EOTC) is an exercise in participatory planning to make the canal a livable place for the residents of Chennai. The initiative involves various activities such as awareness walks, community engagement meetings and an open-ideas competition to generate interest and ownership for the canal which has suffered from our collective abandonment. As part of the project, the EOTC team has been continuously engaging with the residents of Kotturpuram & Kasturibai Nagar to further understand and address the issues plaguing the Buckingham canal. Through a series of events and discussions, solid waste management along the streets of the canal were identified as a primary area of concern. In order to rapidly assess the SWM practices along the canal from Kotturpuram till Thiruvanmiyur, we collaborated with residents and associations in these areas to map the garbage hotspots and ascertain practices that were negatively contributing to the improper disposal of waste. This report addresses and analyses solid waste management in the following sections: • Garbage hot-spot mapping • Photo documentation of garbage hot-spots • Issues and recommendations for improved solid waste management
Implemented by
On behalf of
Partner In collaboration with Organization Residents of Kotturpuram & Kasturibai Nagar
GARBAGE HOT-SPOT MAPPING The garbage hot-spots were mapped with the help of residents from Kasturi Bai Nagar and volunteers from Urban Design Collective.
A OVERFLOWING DUMP OVERFLOWING DUMP
Kotturpuram MRTS Station
The mapping exercise revealed that there was excessive dumping of waste all along Buckingham canal in the stretch from Kotturpuram MRTS station till Kasturibai Nagar MRTS station. It was also identified that the number of garbage hotspots and the level of dumping reduced after Kasturibai Nagar MRTS station till Thiruvanmiyur MRTS station, owing to lack of access to this portion of the canal from the IT offices along OMR and the residential section in Indiranagar and Thiruvanmiyur.
DMK OFFICE
Legend
A
Kotturpuram MRTS station to Kasturibai Nagar MRTS station
B
Kasturibai Nagar MRTS station to Indiranagar MRTS station
C
Indiranagar MRTS station to Thiruvanmiyur MRTS station Garbage dump / Litter
Dumpster
Tri-cycle waste collector
AAVIN PARLOUR
RAKSHINI PRINTERS
Kasturibai Nagar MRTS Station
LITTER FROM NEARBY WORKSHOP
B
C
Indiranagar MRTS Station
Indiranagar MRTS Station
Thiruvanmiyur MRTS Station
PHOTO DOCUMENTATION OF GARBAGE HOT-SPOTS Exisiting condition of some of the corporation dust bins in Kotturpuram
1
A 1 Perumal Koil St
PATRICIAN COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCE
URPURAM STATION
Canal B
2
ank Rd
Construction debris & household waste located along the north eastern corner of Kotturpuram R.S
W Canal R
d
2
Buckingham Canal
Lake View St
EWS Housing
2nd Canal Cross Rd 3rd Main Rd
1st Canal Cross Rd
The household waste thrown by the residences on the south easten corner of Kotturpuram R.S 2nd Main Rd
3
3
1st Main Rd
Sardar Patel Rd
Rd Canal Bank Rd
Buckingham Canal
AR
2nd Main Rd
3rd Main Rd
Waste dumped in rear side of Sri Matha Trust building along the canal banks 4th Main Rd
4
A Perumal Koil St
PATRICIAN COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCE
KOTTURPURAM MRTS STATION
Construction debris & household waste dumped along the south eastern corner of Kotturpuram R.S
ank Rd
5
W Canal R
d
5
Canal B
4
6
2nd Canal Cross Rd
EWS Housing
Park
Buckingham Canal
Lake View St
3rd Main Rd
1st Canal Cross Rd
Pile of House hold waste dumped on the western side of the pedestrain bridge
2nd Main Rd
6
driya CLRI
1st Main Rd
Sardar Patel Rd
dar Patel Rd Canal Bank Rd
Buckingham Canal
BAI NAGAR STATION
2nd Main Rd
3rd Main Rd
Large mountains of household waste piled up along the wall in west canal bank road 4th Main Rd
7
A Perumal Koil St
PATRICIAN COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCE
KOTTURPURAM MRTS STATION
Canal B ank Rd
Pile of House hold waste dumped on the eastern side of the pedestrain bridge 8
W Canal R
d
7
EWS Housing
ark
8
Buckingham Canal
Lake View St
2nd Canal Cross Rd
9 3rd Main Rd
1st Canal Cross Rd
Large dumps of waste along the edge on the eastern side behind Cancer Institute
2nd Main Rd
9
driya CLRI
1st Main Rd
Sardar Patel Rd
ar Patel Rd Canal Bank Rd
Buckingham Canal
AI NAGAR TATION
2nd Main Rd
3rd Main Rd
Household waste piled up inside the canal along the wall in west canal bank road 4th Main Rd
10
A Perumal Koil St
PATRICIAN COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCE
KOTTURPURAM MRTS STATION
Canal B ank Rd
Household waste piled up on the road along the wall in west canal bank road
W Canal R
d
11
2nd Canal Cross Rd
10
EWS Housing
ark
Buckingham Canal
Lake View St
3rd Main Rd
1st Canal Cross Rd
11
Household waste thrown on the streets
12
2nd Main Rd
12
driya CLRI
1st Main Rd
Sardar Patel Rd
ar Patel Rd Canal Bank Rd
Buckingham Canal
AI NAGAR TATION
2nd Main Rd
3rd Main Rd
Household waste thrown on the road just ajacent a dust bin 4th Main Rd
13
A Perumal Koil St PATRICIAN COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCE
13 KOTTURPURAM MRTS STATION
14
Canal B ank Rd
Household waste dumped by residence on the road along the eastern side of the Kotturpuram R.S
W Canal R
d
14
Lake View St Buckingham Canal
2nd Canal Cross Rd
EWS Housing
ark
15
3rd Main Rd
1st Canal Cross Rd
Household waste dumped by residence along the road along the eastern side of the Kotturpuram R.S
2nd Main Rd
15
driya CLRI
1st Main Rd
Sardar Patel Rd
ar Patel Rd Canal Bank Rd
Buckingham Canal
AI NAGAR TATION
2nd Main Rd
3rd Main Rd
Waste dumped on the eastern edge of the canal infront of Cancer Institute 4th Main Rd
16
B
Household waste piled up along the service road in OMR 17
16
17 Litter and open sewerage system 18
18
Household waste disposed under the MRTS line
19
C
19
Household waste dumped by residence on the juntion of Indira Nagar 2nd Avenue and OMR 20
20
Household waste and construction debris disposed along the MRTS line on OMR 21
21
Waste dumped inside the fence of the MRTS Station
ISSUES AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVED SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT Kasturibai Nagar The below listed points are a collation of issues pertaining to solid waste management in Kasturibai Nagar, generated through a series of discussions with the local residents and shopkeepers in Kasturibai Nagar. Residents • The residents of Kasturibai Nagar have formed an organization called ROKA, which aims at making their neighbourhood a zerowaste zone. As part of ROKA, members have been actively advocating segregation of garbage and collection of segregated garbage for several years. They continue to conduct events in the neighbourhood to encourage segregation. Apart from constantly improving awareness in the neighbourhood, they also conduct events to train corporation waste collectors to properly collect, segregate and recycle waste from the area. • Despite their efforts and due to various reasons, only 60-70% of residents in 2nd & 3rd main road properly segregate their garbage and this further reduces to 30% in the 1st main road. • The irregular and infrequent collection of door-to-door waste demotivate people from segregating and storing waste at home. People have also witnessed waste collectors mixing the after collecting the segregated waste from households. Therefore residents tend to dispose their waste in a mixed manner directly in the street dumpsters. • Corporation workers were trained by residents to collect organic and hazardous waste on an ever day basis, while collecting dry waste on Wednesdays. This practice has disappeared and has become hard to
enforce due to the continuously changing staff from the Corporation. • Earlier, the collected dry waste was further segregated by the corporation waste collectors to extract valuables to be sent to the Kabadiwalas (waste paper marts). Currently, this practice has disappeared and leads to increased dumping of garbage in landfills. • The shops along Canal bank road dispose their everyday waste in the dumpsters in the residential streets, which cause these dumpsters to overflow and also cause foul smell. This becomes an added factor in residents not engaging in segregation and hinders with the process of making Kasturibai Nagar a zero waste zone. Shopkeepers • Small scale shopkeepers don’t generate enough income to take care of the bulk waste generated inside their shop. • Due to the lack of dumpsters along canal bank road, the shops here dispose their waste into the dumpster in the 2nd main road. • Infrequent clearing of waste leads to overflow of garbage along the streets. • There is an inadequacy in provision of dumpsters for the commercial establishments.
Voices of Kasturibai Nagar Street dumpsters won’t work, we also believe the dumpsters can be removed once the source segregation is setup holistically. At present the source segregation is not happening and hence Irregularity in waste collection is causing a lot of issues. We are required to follow up with the people in charge on a daily basis to ensure the clearance is done. The bulk garden waste clearance was supposed to happen every Wednesday and it is also not regular. Workers expect money.
- Members of ROKA, Kasturibai Nagar We deposit the garbage located in the bin along the 2nd main road and I don’t separate since the maximum waste generated from my shop is only dry waste. The bins gets filled very quickly post clearance. Clear the bins twice a day or add more bins according the population. Very irregular in cleaning the waste lying on ground. Will follow segregation if needed. Door to Door collection will help but doesn’t matter as we will continue to dump the garbage in the bins in the night after closing the shops.
- Shopkeepers in Canal bank road
What the residents of Kasturibai Nagar want? • The residents request the Corporation to arrange for a meeting between the shopkeepers association in Kasturibai nagar and the residents, to discuss issues and future plans with regard to proper segregation and disposal of waste in the area. • Allocation and construction of a compost+waste yard in the vacant land opposite the hockey ground in Kotturpuram. Necessary proposals and plans for the same has been submitted to the zonal office and the RDC has visited the desired site on 05th March 2019 along with members of ROKA. It has been promised that immediate steps will be taken for the same after ascertaining the ownership of the site. • They hope to remove all the dumpsters in the streets after the construction of the compost yard, transforming Kasturibai Nagar into a clean and green space. • Distribution of notices in Kasturibai Nagar detailing the need and enforcemment of waste segregation. The members of ROKA hope to enforce segregation in all the residences starting from 01 April 2019 and request the help and cooperation of the
corporation waste collectors for the same. • The shopkeepers say that they currently don’t segregate waste as there is no proper law for it and promise that they would segregate waste if proper infrastructure is provided for the same.
KEY ISSUES 1. Inadequacy in segregation of waste 2. Improper disposal of waste 3. Infrequency in collection of waste from dumpsters 4. Infrequency in collection of door-todoor segregated waste 5. Inadequacy in dumpsters along canal bank road 6. Lack of awareness 7. Lack of enforcement
ISSUES AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVED SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT Kotturpuram The below listed points are a collation of issues pertaining to solid waste management in Kotturpuram, generated through a series of discussions with the local residents in Canal bank road, Kotturpuram. Garbage • Irregularity in collection of waste by corporation workers and lack of Street Sweepers are reasons for the overflowing garbage in the dumpsters and therefore residents end up throwing the garbage on the roads. • Lack of dustbins and inadequate dustbins are issues that contribute to irresponsible disposal of waste on the streets. • The Residences on the eastern side of the canal in Kotturpuram currently dump the garbage into the canal due to the lack of dust bins/dumpsters on their street. Owing to the lack of proper infrastructure, these residents have cultivated a habit of garbage disposal along the canal for over 4 decades. There seems to be an inherent apathy for keeping the surrounding clean. • Residents claim that the Cancer Institute disposes its garbage and waste along the canal. A line of waste can be spotted along the institute which reinforces this claim. There is absolutely no Segregation of waste. • Residents who engage in alcohol consumption along the banks of the canal in the south eastern corner of the station discard the alcohol bottles on the canal banks and this is never cleared. Broken bottles in the open spaces apart from being unsafe also affects the visual appeal of the space.
Sewage • The public toilet constructed on the junction of West Canal Bank road and Sardar Patel Road was abandoned by the residents due to religious reasons. Hence, urination in public continue to happen at various points along the entire stretch of the canal in Kotturpuram. • Due to the lack of adequate infrastructure, several residences continue to discharge the sewage into the canal directly without any treatment which is pollutes the water in the canal causing a foul smell and becomes a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Health • Mosquitoes is the most common issue put forward by all the residences. Several residents complained of health issues being prominent in the area due to mosquitoes which also poses a threat to their livelihoods. The stagnant water, discharge of sewage, dumping of garbage, presence of Velikathan Maram (Prosopis juliflora) contribute towards the breeding of mosquitoes. • Residents also point out that not cleaning the canal regularly is hazardous for people living along it.
Voices of Kotturpuram No dust bins and hence we dump the garbage along the banks of the canal. Even the tri-cycles which previously used to pick garbage door to door didn’t work as it used to come irregularly and at random timings. We don’t use the bins placed on the West canal Bank Road. Mosquitoes doesn’t let us sleep in the night. Kindly give us some sleep.
- Group of ladies in the settlement on the eastern side of the canal The hospital dumps garbage along the canal on its eastern edge. Residences in between the canal and the Canal bank road dump also dump the garbage along the canal banks. The maids working in the residences drop the garbage in the dust bins placed by the GCC. But since they are not cleared regularly people throw it on the road when the bin is full. The GCC lorries don’t pick up the waste lying on the road. No one really sweeps the streets. We want the streets to be clean and neat, add extra bins according to the number of people and clear them twice a day after peak hours.
- Auto drivers association in Kotturpuram Presence of Velikathan Maram (Prosopis juliflora) is contributing to the breeding of mosquitoes, thus causing diseases. These mosquitoes fly in swarms and it is not at all possible to stand on the roads without lighting a fire – which is also not of great impact. Make necessary arrangements to clean the canal and free from Mosquitoes. - Residents along West canal bank road in Kotturpuram
What the residents of Kotturpuram want? • The residents request provision of extra dumpsters along the canal. • Provision of some form of garbage collection / disposal for the residences on the eastern side of the canal. • Proper and frequent collection of waste from the dumpsters. They state that currently the residents engage in cleaning in the streets where garbage has overflown from the dumpsters and they belive that frequent clearing of the dumpsters will not allow for this.
KEY ISSUES 1. Improper disposal of garbage 2. Irregular
and
infrequent
garbage
collection 3. Inadequate dumpsters 4. No Segregation of waste 5. Improper
discharge
of
untreated
sewage
• Strict laws and enforcement against improper disposal of garbage on the streets.
6. Irresponsible
• Strict actions to be taken against institutions who dispose their waste on the canal and therefore endangering their lives.
7. Open Defecation along the canal
• Regular cleaning of the canal and adequate measures to be taken for the reduction of mosquito population in the area.
9. Apathy of the residents
disposal
of
alcohol
bottles
8. Mosquitoes
Garbage mapping Manasa Ramanathan (Volunteer) Residents of Kasturibai Nagar Srivardhan Rajalingam Photo Credits Manasa Ramanathan (Volunteer) Srivardhan Rajalingam Report compilation Abinaya Rajavelu Srivardhan Rajalingam