Chennai:Ā Residents of Chrompet are angered over the repeated disposal of untreated medical waste into the Thiruneermalai Lake.
According to sources, volunteers and NGOs from the locality, have been working for a long time to give a facelift for the waterbody, which has a humongous storage capacity.
“A couple of months ago, tonnes of fishes perished in the lake. The reason being untreated medical waste that was discarded here, making the water toxic,” says V Santhanam, president of People’s Awareness Club, which lodged a police complaint against those responsible for the same.
“Residents have raised a number of petitions with the officials concerned and volunteers have been cleaning the lake every now-and-then. Few days ago, those in the surrounding areas saw loads of medical waste again being disposed. Fortunately, there was no water. Otherwise, a large number of animals including cattle that consume water from here, would have been dead, thanks to the hazardous chemicals,” he adds.
It may be noted that medical trash should be discarded only after treating it with scientific methods, or by burning it to ashes in the prescribed manner. “We have now filed a complaint with the police department, who are ready to help us in this issue. We have also filed a report with the Food Safety And Drug Control department, and the Tamilnadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) officials who visited the spot,” he states.