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A video that has gone viral connected societal media shows Kodaikanal Municipal officials being pulled up by District Forest Officer Yogesh Kumar Meena who had travel to inspect the wood country adjacent to the Prakasapuram landfill tract adjacent Perumalmalai connected Wednesday (21 January 2026).
Seeing the overflowing garbage seeping into the pristine shola wood nearby, an infuriated DFO tin beryllium seen flaying the officials concerned. He tin beryllium seen informing the officials that arsenic per the wood rules, helium had the powerfulness to remand them for letting discarded into the restricted eco-sensitive zone. Though, officials tin beryllium seen telling that they would beryllium capable to wide the discarded wrong six months, Mr. Meena was not acceptable to perceive and gave them an ultimatum to person it removed arsenic soon arsenic possible.
According to a elder municipal official, the DFO has fixed them clip till Sunday to region the discarded from wrong the wood limits. “We person instantly arranged the needed manpower and enactment is connected to region the discarded from the wood limits,” helium adds. The discarded removed volition beryllium dumped wrong the municipal landfill site. As for clearing the accumulated waste, the authoritative says, “a tender has been called for and the deadline for submitting bids is January 28. After that the chosen contractor would statesman the biomining process,” helium adds.
For activists successful Kodaikanal, this enactment by the DFO has travel aft a agelong and sustained run that has lasted for 3 years. Eco-warriors similar Avijit Michael person been warring from 2023 not conscionable to wide the garbage rolling down the landfill to the shola wood adjacent to it but besides to cheque the leachate from entering the streams arsenic these are the main h2o root for residents surviving downhill. “In precocious 2023, we were told that astir Rs 7 crore has been allocated to wide the piling discarded astatine Prakasapuram but nary steps person been taken truthful far,” they constituent out. Though a Municipal Solid Waste Management Rule, 2016, states that garbage dump successful elevation stations should not beryllium located successful fragile zones, the Prakasapuram landfill defies the edict. Waste procreation increases during the tourer play and the discarded is dumped successful the already overflowing tract starring to large spillover successful the adjacent wood area, says Avijit.
“Though aggregate petitions and emails were sent to officials acrophobic arsenic accumulation of discarded successful this portion could person monolithic ramification to the fragile wood area, nary enactment was taken,” says Bala, a nonmigratory of Kodaikanal. Irked by the lethargy of the administration, connected Tuesday the residents of Kodaikanal launched a run connected societal media and X tagging the UN. “This has had the desired result”, accidental activists and they anticipation that precise soon the Prakasapuram landfill tract volition crook into a harmless discarded containment portion with rehabilitation of the tract besides connected the anvil.
