Wed Apr 16 19:20:52 UTC 2025: ## Perungudi Dumpyard’s Foul Odor and Pollution Continue to Plague Chennai Residents
**Chennai, April 17, 2025** – Residents near Chennai’s Perungudi dumpyard continue to suffer from the site’s noxious fumes and polluted groundwater, despite ongoing remediation efforts. A long-time resident and president of the Federation of Thoraipakkam Residents Welfare Associations, A. Francis, described the stench as unbearable, particularly at night, forcing residents to keep windows and doors sealed. Water contamination has been an issue for over two decades, with recent tests revealing ammoniacal nitrogen levels eleven times the permissible limit.
The dumpyard, operational for over 35 years, has impacted the nearby Pallikaranai Marshland, a Ramsar site, through subsurface contamination. While 90 acres have been reclaimed through biomining, concerns remain about the lack of lining between waste and soil in certain areas, leading to groundwater contamination. Experts from Anna University, the project management consultant for the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), point to untreated waste and a lack of leachate management as major contributors to the pollution. Although some pollution levels are within acceptable limits, others, including dissolved copper, chromium, zinc, and chloride, remain significantly high.
While the GCC plans to implement bio-CNG, windrow composting, and vermicomposting facilities, Commissioner J. Kumaragurubaran admits the foul smell will persist until all waste is processed. Experts caution that the proposed biomining may exacerbate leachate issues. The long-term solution, according to residents and experts, necessitates complete waste clearance and soil reclamation to allow the wetland to recover. The residents oppose the construction of a Waste-to-Energy plant similar to the one at Kodungaiyur dumpyard.
First Piper 