Vacant plots cause health hazard to residents

Vacant residential plots in many residential colonies pose a health hazard to residents.

A case in point is the problem faced by residents of Selva Nagar near Ponnagar where a huge piece of land comprising a bunch of vacant plots have virtually turned into a mini jungle with thick growth of seemai karuvelam (Prosopis juliflora) and weeds.

The nearly one acre piece of land off the second street in the first cross of Selva Nagar has been lying unattended for several years, says long-time residents of the colony. “The situation has remained the same since we moved in here in 1987. Insects, snakes and other reptiles take refuge in this piece of land,” said S.Subban, a resident of the locality.

Those living around the plots bear the brunt of the problem. “We have children and feel unsafe. Civic workers say that they cannot do anything about this though they help us by cleaning the big open drain that runs on the other side of vacant plots,” said Vijaya, a senior citizen who resides close to the vacant plots.

“The situation has been the same for the past 30 to 40 years. During monsoon, the vacant plots turn into a mosquito breeding ground with stagnant water. The biggest problem is the health hazard posed by the vacant plots,” said C.Balasubramanian, secretary, Selva Nagar Residents Welfare Association.

Corporation officials say that repeated appeals and warnings have been issued to owners of such plots asking them to clean up their space to prevent spread of diseases. But these warnings have largely gone unnoticed. Though at times it had warned of stern action, the civic body has not been able to initiate action against any of the owners who have left their plots unattended.

In many cases, the plots have been acquired as a long-term investment by residents within and outside the city. Many plots have turned into sewage ponds and dumping grounds for solid waste by some callous residents and shopkeepers in the vicinity.

Although the problem is common across the city, it is felt more acutely in low-lying areas close to Karumandapam such as Selva Nagar. More than a dozen colonies between Karumandapam and Dheeran Nagar, a two-km stretch on the Tiruchi-Dindigul Highway, have scores of such vacant plots right in the midst of well-developed and developing layouts such as Sakthi Nagar, Thiru Nagar, New Selva Nagar, Alpha Nagar, JP Nagar and Kalyanasundaram Nagar. The sewage and rainwater stagnating at these plots have turned breeding grounds for mosquitoes. With the locality not connected to the underground sewer network of the city, open drains constructed in some of the colonies by the corporation often seep into the open plots.
Source:http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/vacant-plots-cause-health-hazard-to-residents/article19514141.ece