CHENNAI: Another instance of biomedical waste being dumped and burned on the banks of Mudichur lake in Perungalathur panchayat has come to the fore.
This is an area south of Chennai, just a few kilometres from Tambaram.
Activist V Pugalventhan, who has closely tracked such improper waste disposal, on Friday visited the spot after complaints from residents.
In photographs and a video taken by him, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits, tubes used in RT-PCR test samples and other used medical equipment were seen in the open dumpyard in the area.
“Some of this biomedical waste was also a bit charred, indicating that whoever has dumped this has tried to burn it,” Pugalventhan said.
The fumes from this were blowing towards nearby residential colonies, he said.
According to Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) norms, biomedical waste has to be collected separately by local bodies and given to a TNPCB-identified company which should incinerate it.
This is the same spot that the activist had highlighted in an earlier complaint in April, but the Perungalathur panchayat had denied the allegations, stating they send biomedical waste to a governmentnominated company for incineration.
Pugalventhan has raised another complaint regarding this issue.
This is the latest in a series of instances of biomedical waste being found dumped in various secluded spots on the outskirts of the city.
These are found off highways, water-bodies or waste lands.
Many locations are near the factories of the companies identified to incinerate the waste.
In some cases, expired medicines had labels of pharmacies.
Similarly bills of hospitals were found amid the waste.
However, no action has been taken by the TNPCB, drug inspectors or local bodies.
TNPCB sources said unlike the Greater Chennai Corporation, smaller local bodies don’t have the wherewithal to track dumping of biomedical waste in nondescript areas.
During Covid, huge amounts of biomedical waste was being generated and its disposal has become a headache.
MLA of Thiruporur constituency and VCK leader S S Balaji has also raised this issue with the TN medical and family welfare minister Ma Subramaniam.