It's waste that flows in Coimbatore's Sanganoor canal
There was a time when the canal used to surge whenever heavy rain lashed Chinnathadagam area.
Today, the canal has become a dumping ground for the city folk.
It was just two weeks ago that the city corporation desilted the canal for a length of 10 kilometres at a cost of Rs40 lakh as part of monsoon preparedness. However, the canal now looks like it wasn't desilted for years together.
The city corporation could not be squarely blamed for the situation. While the city corporation has intensified door-to-door garbage collection, a section of people continue to dump old mattresses, cots, sofas, carton boxes, thermocol and used electronic gadgets into Sanganoor canal.
Originating from Chinnathadagam area, the canal flows through Thadagam valley before it enters the city and travels for 11 kilometres, and drains into the Noyyal river near Singanallur. In 2021, the city corporation had commenced the project to rejuvenate the canal.
S Sivaraja, secretary, Kousika Neerkarangal, an NGO, said the Sanganoor canal was today reduced to a sewage channel. "It was once known for heavy inflow whenever it rained in Thadagam valley.
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Unchecked red soil mining and growth of brick kilns in Thadagam area since the early 1990s reduced the flow of water to the canal. Taking advantage of the situation, people started encroaching upon the canal bund and started dumping all kinds of waste into it.
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He said the corporation's temporary action plans to prevent the choking of canals weren't enough to save Sanganoor canal. "Door-to-door waste collection doesn't include scrap materials, which eventually end up in the canal.
Adequate licensed shredders should be deployed across the city to effectively carry out recycling of waste. There should be proper surveillance cameras and a fence."
C Prashanth, partner, Recompose Recycling Pvt Ltd, said while 90% of the waste materials found in the Sanganoor canal would not be accepted by scrap dealers, those were valuable for waste management handlers. "Most of the residents give old furniture, mattresses and electronic gadgets to scrap dealers, who do not process the same.
Such waste ends up in the canal. Non-refurbishable beds and sofas should be cut and sent for repurposing.
For instance, the cotton and coir in the mattress could be repurposed. While some dry waste that is non-recyclable could be shredded and used as refuse-derived fuel at cement factories. Diapers, sanitary pads and similar items should be incinerated. Thermocol could also be recycled and is a major raw material for manufacturing buttons."
When contacted, a senior corporation official said CCTVs, along with warning boards, had been placed in areas of the canal where garbage dumping was rampant. "We are working on identifying a permanent solution to the issue."
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