Chennai Corporation team visits Paris to study impact of energy plant near Eiffel Tower

Kodungaiyur dumping yard in Chennai. File
| Photo Credit: B. Jothi Ramalingam

Amid protests by north Chennai residents against the proposed waste-to-energy plant, engineers of the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) led by Commissioner J. Kumaragurubaran left for Paris on Sunday to study the impact of a similar plant near the Eiffel Tower.

Meanwhile, north Chennai residents held meetings at 18 places in the vicinity of the proposed plant — Kannadasan Nagar in Kodungaiyur; Gandhi Nagar and Krishnamurthy Nagar in Vyasarpadi and Rajarethinam Nagar, among others.

They condemned the government for the proposal to set up the plant in a congested area where more than eight lakh people reside. “All residents have asked the government to shift the plant elsewhere. The new plant should be located away from the city, in the midst of dense tree cover, to mitigate pollution. Kodungaiyur is not suitable for such a plant,” S. Jeevan, MDMK Councillor, said.

T.K. Shanmugam, president of the Federation of North Chennai Residents’ Welfare Associations, said: “We have established contact with residents of Paris. They allege that the plant has affected children of two schools in its vicinity. Schoolchildren have reportedly been getting infected frequently. Groundwater pollution is another issue…,” he said.