DMK MLAs protest in Tiruppur assailing handling of garbage disposal by Corporation causes flutter

Flagging health-hazard from mounds of garbage piled up on the roadsides for months in the Tiruppur Corporation limits, DMK MLA K. Selvaraj staged a sit-in protest on Monday near Muthaiyan Temple in Ward 55, demanding decisive action by the local body also governed by the ruling party.

The foul smell emanating from the garbage mound aggravated when the cleaning operation was carried out by Corporation workers, in a prompt response to the protest by the ruling party MLA that caused a flutter.

A visibly miffed Mr. Selvaraj assailed the Corporation, blaming it for letting things come to such a pass and cautioned that he will keep protesting at other garbage pile-up spots in the absence of substantive action.

“People are complaining of respiratory problems and the situation has kept aggravating,“ he complained, while staying put for about two hours at the location till the completion of the cleaning process, even as many stood around wearing masks to evade the foul stench.

“I have been a traditional DMK partyman for five decades, and don’t see the need to indulge in politics when it comes to highlighting people’s problems,” he said.

Later in the day, the Corporation said in a press release that the Garbage Vulnerable Points along roadsides and open plots where wastes have been accumulating for long were being identified for carrying out cleaning operations on a war-footing.

Such locations were being fenced with green nets, to prevent littering in future. The locations will be decorated with rangolis and flower plants and trees, the press release said.

The locations will be under constant monitoring, and placards will be placed to prevent littering, Corporation Commissioner M.P. Amith said, appealing to the public to ensure segregation at source, and desist from littering at the points. Those flouting norms will face stringent action under Public Health Regulations, the Commissioner warned.