Chennai: Residents of Velacheri have a grouse- they are not happy with the manure plants set up in the parks, play areas and OSR land in the neighbourhood.
The reason being, the manure plants are currently filled with rain water, resembling mini wells and serve as a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
The small composting yards were built by the civic body to make manure with dry leaves for plants in the park.
A resident says, “The Chennai Corporation made the pits which are eight feet deep. They are made with huge pre-cast concrete rings. Now they are filled with water and there is mosquito menace. It is a dangerous situation, as dengue cases are being reported in Chennai and other parts of the State.”
Another resident says they did not want the facility to be set up in the parks and the authorities never consulted them before installing the units. “An OSR land belongs to the people and not a place for manure plants.”
As per reports, the project began in order to minimise food waste being dumped in the Pallikaranai dumpyard. The manure plants are there in four places in Annai Indira Nagar, two each in VGP Selva Nagar, Baby Nagar, Bhuvaneswari Nagar, Bethel Avenue, Sarathy Nagar and at Balamurugan Nagar.
It is said that a restaurant in Taramani dumps its food waste at the manure plant in Baby Nagar causing inconvenience to residents. In the last five months they have not taken any manure from the pit, it is alleged.
“Due to the water stagnation it looks like a small well. This is wrong. An OSR land is for the people of a particular area. But the manure facility takes a lot of space in these places and people are finding it difficult to walk. They could have set up the facility at Pallikaranai garbage dumping yard,” a resident points out.