Siruseri Dump Yard – An analysis

By
Dhruv Hariharan
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0
4060

How Can We Prevent Animals Entering

The Siruseri Dump Yard

Location: Siruseri, between Pudupakkam and Thalambur.

Notes about place: I have understood that the place is very dangerous, it is a Dumpyard of the Siruseri Panchayat which is located in the middle of two parallel forests, as many robberies and murders happen here. People are scared to travel on this road for the above reasons.

Please Note: I couldn’t get my third interview done because people were unwilling to stop and even if they did, they didn’t want to be a part of the interview. The Panchayat President is extremely busy with preparations as the elections are next month.

Now let us take a look at the pictures!

This board tells that it is the Dump Yard of the Siruseri Panchayat and people coming and throwing garbage individually is prohibited.
This board tells that it is the Dump Yard of the Siruseri Panchayat and people coming and throwing garbage individually is prohibited.
This is the entrance view of the Dump Yard. As you can see animals are eating the food matter in the garbage, they enter from the broken bits of the wall.
This is the entrance view of the Dump Yard. As you can see animals are eating the food matter in the garbage, they enter from the broken bits of the wall.
This picture shows the amount of garbage that could have been easily recycled at first. You can also see the ash from the repetitive burning of thrash. There is huge swarm of mosquitoes that breed there. This place is in the edge of a forest!
This picture shows the amount of garbage that could have been easily recycled at first. You can also see the ash from the repetitive burning of thrash. There is huge swarm of mosquitoes that breed there. This place is in the edge of a forest!
This pictures shows the other extent of the dump. There is a huge pit in the dump. As you can see, plants are growing wildly between the garbage. At the fat end you see a shed.
This pictures shows the other extent of the dump. There is a huge pit in the dump. As you can see, plants are growing wildly between the garbage. At the fat end you see a shed.
This picture depicts the problem! I couldn't get any closer as the dogs were getting disturbed and started becoming aggressive. Cows and dogs are fishing the area for food, many times even plastic material is swallowed. There is also few traces of smoke from the last time of burning!
This picture depicts the problem! I couldn’t get any closer as the dogs were getting disturbed and started becoming aggressive. Cows and dogs are fishing the area for food, many times even plastic material is swallowed. There is also few traces of smoke from the last time of burning!
This picture shows the sheer laziness of people. Bags sitting on a sofa set, both items easily recyclable! Unlike other items it can't be burned easily so it just lays there. Overall Experience: I chose this problem of animals as it stood out and I thought if the Government built a “proper” wall around all the problems will be fixed but I didn't notice there were two other major problems(pollution from burning and no waste segregation) until went there and took pictures. I couldn't take good pictures as mosquitoes and flies were biting me and the dogs became aggressive too! It was a different experience!! Also it was somewhat surprising to see such major flaws in Siruseri as Siruseri is known for its greenery and the IT Park! From visiting the dump I understood the basic working principle of the garbage collection system in Siruseri Panchayat!
This picture shows the sheer laziness of people. Bags sitting on a sofa set, both items easily recyclable! Unlike other items it can’t be burned easily so it just lays there.

Overall Experience: I chose this problem of animals as it stood out and I thought if the Government built a “proper” wall around all the problems will be fixed but I didn’t notice there were two other major problems(pollution from burning and no waste segregation) until went there and took pictures. I couldn’t take good pictures as mosquitoes and flies were biting me and the dogs became aggressive too! It was a different experience!! Also it was somewhat surprising to see such major flaws in Siruseri as Siruseri is known for its greenery and the IT Park! From visiting the dump I understood the basic working principle of the garbage collection system in Siruseri Panchayat!

Interview Script

As I have mentioned earlier I could get only two interviews done due to the dangers of the place.

photo-7This is Siva (male) a sincere Corporate Worker who has been working here for the past two and a half years. He is 25 years of age and hails from Thiruporur, he is deeply affected by the problems surrounding him.

How often do you notice the Dump Yard?

I have been working here for the past 2.5 years.

The board says that people should not dump garbage here individually, has that rule been followed?

Yes, it is. Although, the corporate truck comes here with heaps of garbage to dump here twice, everyday!

 

Do you think animals “eating” here is a social problem?

Yes it is very dangerous! The animals consume plastic and die in two months. Few get lucky and survive but most of them die unfortunately. Also, pollution caused by us burning plastic can be a problem for the people using the road.

Is burning the only way to get rid of the thrash or are there any ways?

Considering the garbage collection system, burning is the only way of getting rid of the waste.

Okay quickly moving to animals! What do you think will prevent them from entering the dump?

The only probable way is to wall/fence the full area.

From the time you started working here, has the Panchayat has ever tried to come and fix it?

No, from the time I came the Panchayat haven’t come to fix it. It is most likely that they just built the wall and fence and then just left it at that.

I learnt that the the Panchayat President has served 4 terms which is 20 years!!!

Okay the wall hasn’t been fixed but has the animals coming here and consuming plastic problem been there from the time you came here?

Yes it has been but I can’t tell exactly for how long this problem has been occurring but definitely for the two and a half years! It is very unfortunate that animals die so often and new ones again come and die!

Do you think this problem should be a high priority for the Panchayat to fix?

I don’t know if it will happen but it would be very nice if they fixed it.

Do you think this Dump Yard is unnecessary and if so, should it be destroyed?

Nope it is not unnecessary, firstly because every Panchayat has a Dump Yard and secondly if the garbage wasn’t burned here it would be somewhere else so it doesn’t make a big difference.

Experience: The interview was around 1 hour long! Not once did I see an impatient look on his face! He spoke to the point and never veered away from the topic. The most amazing thing was he readily accepted the interview and second later it was over he went back to work! I liked speaking to him and understanding what is going on in that area although I did lose some information as I am not fluent in Tamil and couldn’t understand and ask stuff. Nevertheless, it was a good experience, one of a kind!

photo-8This is Yuvraj(male) a very knowledgeable driver who told me a lot of information. He is of 30 years of age and hails from Kelambakkam. He is a keen observer of the problems around him.

How often do you notice the dumpyard?

I notice it about 4 times a day.

Do you think animals “eating” here is a social problem?

Yes, indeed! Animals eat plastic material by mistake when searching for food then they go inside the forest and sleep there, only to never wake up again! Although few of them get lucky!

What do you think will prevent the animals from even entering this dumpyard?

The Panchayat needs to wall/fence the area properly but the chances of them doing it are very slim as they aren’t bothered because it is on the edge of a forest!

Then where should it be located for them to even considering fixing it?

They think it doesn’t affect anyone! They think only if it is near a school/college or apartment will they take it seriously!Even if they fix it, it should be maintained well! Until now they haven’t even tried to fix it!

For how long has the problem occurred?

1 year since I started travelling on this road only 1 year back but I am pretty sure it would have existed before.

Going to garbage part of the problem, do you think burning is the only way to get rid of it?

Well, yes it is the only way of getting rid of garbage because they don’t have the equipment for segregation of garbage which leaves them no other choice! I think the Panchayat should give a shot at waste segregation!

Do you think this problem should be a high priority for the Panchayat to fix?

From a personal angle, excluding animals, the amount of smoke in the area accumulates and becomes dark so it is little hard to see at times! However, the Panchayat doesn’t realise that there are flaws in the dumpyard and so will not even try working on it! It would be wonderful if they actually fix it.

What if people go tell the Panchayat that the problems that are faced here?

I don’t think they will be very happy and committing to hear flaws on their work, perhaps we can give it a try but again the chances are slim. They don’t even realise this problem forget acknowledging it.

Do you think this dumpyard is unnecessary and if so, should it be destroyed?

I can’t comment on if it’s unnecessary or not as every Panchayat has a dumpyard and it wouldn’t make a big difference if they destroyed it and grew plants instead because the garbage will accumulate in some other dumpyard and the pollution there will become twice worse than now.

Finally, what would it take for them to start waste segregation?

I think if the Corporation people here are given the right equipment and are educated properly on how to do it, it may just work out! However, more than these people it solely is based on how ready are the people to segregate waste in the right groups, if they chuck the wrong thrash in the wrong bin then it won’t work.

Experience: I noticed that there was more or less similar views on the problems. Again, he never showed impatient looks, he gave me a lot of facts about not only the dumpyard but the Panchayat too. He never just gave raw facts or view but was patient enough and explained why too. I may have missed some information because I couldn’t understand very well! It was an amazing experience as I had learned far more than what I came for!