Pollution woes hit Kodungaiyur

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Perambur MLA Mr A. Soundararajan (64) and his wife Ms Ponni (60) have been shuttling between their Kodungaiyur residence and the MLAs’ hostel for the last one year as they have been undergoing continuous medical check-ups for respiratory problems and skin allergies after they shifted from their own house in Kolathur to a rented residence in Kodungaiyur in August 2011.

Though the MLA’s decision to live in the constituency has “gifted” various diseases to him and his wife, they continue their struggle against the dumpyard menace with determination. At present, the dump yard is overflowing with more than one lakh tonnes of waste but has received no attention from the authorities.

Mr Soundararajan said many research teams visit his house, which is only half-a-kilometre from the dumpyard, to take air samples for reports on poisonous gases in the air. “But the government is not concerned about Kodungaiyur residents and remains indifferent to the issue.

Doctors have cautioned me and my wife that we have developed early symptoms of bronchitis. Whenever we feel very sick, we shift to the MLA’s hostel and later return to be with the residents here,” said the couple.

Though their daughter Ms Ahalya, residing in Velachery, had asked them to live with her, they had refused.

The plight of the MLA and his wife is not an isolated case. Many residents say their relatives do not visit them any longer as the Kodungaiyur neighbourhood stinks throughout the year.

They say that whenever they fill their plates with food, swarms of flies surround them. They are also fighting a losing battle against the dirt that piles up on their courtyards and terraces.

Upset with the neglect of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board and the City Corporation’s burning garbage problem, residents here have chalked out fresh, aggressive protests for this world environment day.