CHENNAI: Private tanker lorries continue to brazenly dispose of raw sewage in storm water drains alongside highways in Chennai and its suburbs.
On Sunday, three private tankers were spotted disposing of raw sewage in the drains alongside the AH-45 highway near the AGS Dental College, next to Maduravoyal.
Activists who spotted the tankers said all three were dumping it by hiding the outlet pipes through sheets.
"Due to this method, no fast moving vehicles on the highways would spot this at first sight. This open dumping of sewage into drains has become a growing concern," said activist V Pughalvendhan, who spotted this first.
Pughalvendhan said that most of these tankers dispose of waste from the nearby apartment complexes.
Visuals showed that even though most of the storm water drains are closed on the stretch, the lorry drivers have identified exact spots where the drains are open to dump the sewage.
Pictures showed that all three tankers spotted dumping the sewage belonged to the same owner -- P Saravana Transport.
When Express rang up the phone numbers, pasted on the lorry, a man named P Mohan, who claimed to be part of the transport company, said they do not dump sewage in the open.
However, when this reporter said there are visuals of the act, he immediately said the driver must have erred and they would question him.
"Since the sewage dumping station must have been far, the driver must have erred by dumping it in open. We will question him for the act," he said.
However, activists said that the drivers need to pay at least Rs 450 at the sewage pumping station and to avoid that, they dump it in the open. "Recently also they protested the hike of sewage discharge charges at the pumping stations," said Pughalvendhan.
In 2018, Express had reported that as many as 1,500 private sewage tankers had protested against the Metro Water Board's decision to increase the price of sewage discharge from 100 to 250. Presently, the tanker owners pay Rs 450.
This has also resulted in tanker owners overcharging residents by as much as Rs 1000 for collecting sewage.
Express tried to reach the Municipal Administration Secretary Harmander Singh but he did not respond.