Plastic waste chokes Perumpallam Canal in Erode
The Hindu
Efforts to rejuvenate Perumpallam Canal in Erode face challenges due to ongoing dumping of waste, hindering progress.
Though work is in progress to rejuvenate Perumpallam Canal in Erode at ₹183.63 crore, indiscriminate dumping of plastics and polystyrene foam in the water body continues at many places.
Under the Smart City Mission, the Corporation began work in December 2019 to develop the canal for 12.15 km in five packages. The delay in clearing unauthorised structures slowed down work in package 4, while works in other packages are under progress.
However, residents and shopkeepers continue to dump plastics, poultry waste, food waste from hotels and household waste in to the canal.
A resident at Marapalam said that due to dumping of waste, foul odour emanated from the water body round the clock. He feared that the accumulated waste would clog the canal, and the water might flood houses during monsoon rain.
Over 750 unauthorised houses located on both sides of the canal are yet to be demolished, as tenements are being constructed for them at Chithode. “Once it starts raining, we face hardship as water from the canal enters our houses,” said another resident and urged the civic body to remove waste from the canal.