GCC turns blind eye to Perambur park buried under waste

Chennai: A public park on Medavakkam Tank Road in Perambur has turned into an unofficial dumping ground, with meat waste, plastic, and construction debris piling up over the past six months.

Once an open space for children and residents, the park is now in a state of disrepair due to neglect by Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC).

Residents say the situation worsened after a group of construction workers occupied the park for several months. Though they vacated two months ago, nothing has been done to clean or restore the area for public use.

When TOI visited the park on Friday afternoon, a group of five boys was clearing debris from the ground to make space to play cricket. "We used to play in the park daily before it was occupied by construction workers. This is the only place we have in this locality to play football and cricket without getting yelled at by neighbours. Even though the park isn't clean, we still manage to make some space to play," said U Sridhar, a class VII student at a GCC school in Perambur.

S Prabhakar, a car mechanic on Medavakkam Tank Road, said, "As the stretch has more than six meat shops, meat waste, along with littered plastic, are collectively dumped in the park every day. The corporation seldom cleans it despite repeated complaints. The pile emnates a foul stench."

T Chithra, another resident, said, "There are no gates or security guards to monitor the park at night. Once traffic police leave in the evening, the area is occupied by tipplers."

When contacted, zone 6 chairperson R Saritha said the park would be cleaned and restored as soon as possible, and measures will be taken to keep away the tipplers.