Daily Waste Dumping Threatens Chennai's Cooum River
Right outside the prestigious MGR University, a serious environmental crisis unfolds daily as Adayalampattu village panchayat systematically dumps garbage into the already polluted Cooum River. Despite regular cleanup efforts by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), the continuous dumping creates a persistent cycle of pollution affecting water flow and downstream areas.
The panchayat dumps waste not only directly into the river but also along service lanes and beneath NHAI's Chennai bypass, creating multiple pollution hotspots in the area. This irresponsible waste management practice has become particularly concerning following recent showers that have increased water levels in the Cooum.
Flooding Risks and Environmental Damage
With reservoirs pre-emptied and the Cooum carrying more water due to rainfall, the dumped waste obstructs natural water flow. The garbage mixes with floodwaters, creating a contaminated mixture that affects areas all the way downstream to Napier Bridge. This situation poses significant health and environmental risks to communities along the river's path.
Residents have expressed serious concerns that continued dumping and land leveling activities may eventually lead to permanent encroachment of the waterbody, further reducing the river's capacity and worsening flooding during heavy rains.
Infrastructure Gaps Enable Environmental Violations
The Chennai Rivers Restoration Trust (CRRT) wing of GCC has failed to construct boundary walls along several stretches of the river from Koyambedu to Maduravoyal. This infrastructure gap allows trespassers easy access to the riverbanks, facilitating the illegal dumping activities.
An assistant executive engineer with GCC's CRRT department revealed that a 150-meter stretch behind MGR College is currently entangled in legal disputes. "After the legal matters are resolved, the Water Resources Department can build bunds, following which boundary walls can be constructed. Currently, this stretch doesn't have proper bunds," the engineer explained.
Scale of the Problem and Lack of Facilities
The statistics reveal the magnitude of the issue: Adayalampattu panchayat, with approximately 4,000 residents, generates around 10 tonnes of waste daily. The local body lacks essential waste management infrastructure, including segregation facilities, waste transfer stations, or bio-CNG setups to process wet waste effectively.
S Lazar, a resident of Aishwarya Nagar, highlighted the paradox of their situation: "The locality is developed but lacks basic amenities. Waste is usually taken to the Thiruverkadu municipality. They dump the excess into the river to get rid of it easily." He advocated for merging the local body with GCC due to its proximity to the city.
Political Delays and Proposed Solutions
A proposal to merge Adayalampattu panchayat with Greater Chennai Corporation has been pending for nearly four years and faces further delays due to the upcoming 2026 assembly elections. This bureaucratic stagnation prevents more effective waste management solutions from being implemented.
Maduravoyal MLA K Ganapathy addressed the situation, stating, "We have been removing the waste and restricting them from dumping. Multiple parts of the service lane are now cleared. The waste is also removed daily, and we have flattened the area."
The MLA added that proposals are being developed for the panchayat to process its own waste, though specific timelines and implementation details remain unclear. While NHAI has placed anti-littering boards in some spots, residents and officials agree these measures are insufficient to deter the systematic dumping.
Ganapathy also mentioned that water hyacinth has been cleared from affected areas, and the WRD will flatten the garbage mounds to mitigate immediate environmental hazards. However, without comprehensive waste processing facilities and stricter enforcement, the cycle of dumping and cleanup continues to plague the Cooum River and surrounding communities.
