For the 60 odd families living in Siraikadu village in Theni district of Tamil Nadu, life revolved around work and survival for most part until 2010 when the Bodinayaikanur Municipality identified a plot 200 meters away from their settlement for a dump yard.
Siraikadu rests in the foothills of the Bodi West Hills, its people primarily work as wage laborers in nearby plantations. A few broken mud huts, chicks being tended by hens, children clutching their mom's saree as she tends a wood fire are some of the scenes you come across when you walk through the village. The villagers have been living in the area for the past 40 years after they were removed from the core area of Meghamalai Reserve Forest.
Being closer to the Bodi town meant a more stable livelihood with greater access to government benefits for the primarily BPL card holding village. When their kuccha huts got destroyed by elephants a few years ago; it was the government who stepped in to build concrete houses for them.
Being close to the town, however, surfaced new perils in the simple lives of Siraikadu villagers, when the Bodinayaikanur Municipality decided to build its dumping yard. Since then, they have been plagued by flies, yellowed water and noxious air.
During monsoons, the garbage gets into our water tanks, the water turns yellow so its affects the food we cook because we use the same water for cooking. Ever since the kuppa came up, we have been suffering from itches and vomiting," says 25-year-old Dhanlaxmi, cradling her two year old son.
The kuppa or dumpster in question is triple the size of the Siraikadu village with garbage from the Bodi town systematically dumped in rows by trucks seven to eight times a day. The dump yard is surrounded by a high red wall with only one entrance.
"Selvam is the watchman stationed in the dump yard. He lives there with his wife, children and mother-in-law. They also scavenge the garbage and sell it at times. But no one else from the village does that," continues Dhanlaxmi, whose husband works as a coolie in a nearby plantation. “They burn the garbage at times; it fills the entire air with black smoke and bad odour.”
A doctor from the Bodi town visits the village on 12th of every month. Dhanlaxmi mentions that it is more of an effort on their part to reach him as they have to head to the gram panchayat office for check-ups.
Siraikadu is your conventional village cradled in the foothills of Bodi West Hills spruced with vagaries of green. An ugly dump yard with miles of grey garbage mottled with green and red plastic bags and discarded clothes stands prominent against the green backdrop.
Theni has 22 recognized landfill sites for its six municipalities, the one next to Siraikadu being one of them. However, site selection guidelines under Municipal Solid Waste (Management and Handling) Rules 2000 states that a landfill site should be located away from habitation clusters, forest areas, water bodies, monuments and national parks.
As per Central Pollution Control Board reports on Solid Waste Management in Southern States, the municipality of Bodinayakanur produces an average of 30 metric tonne of waste per day. With no treatment facilities in the district of Theni, the waste is dumped in identified yards similar to the one next Siraikadu.
The guidelines for evaluation of Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSW) by Central Pollution Control Board states that 'prior to monsoon period, a soil cover of 40-60 com thickness shall be placed on the landfill to prevent rainwater infiltration.' Lack of adherence on any of these guidelines has made life difficult for the people of Siraikadu.
"During monsoons we can't eat or cook. There are too many flies. We have given a petition to the government to remove it," says Nanama, one of the oldest residents of Siraikadu sitting on the common concrete pavement in front of her home massaging her old knees with a red balm.
"They put up a wall around the village when we complained that wild animals come to the village attracted by the smell of the garbage. But there is a huge gap in the wall so animals like wild boars and foxes tend to enter through that," says Kishan, a 50-year-old plantation worker pointing to the freshly painted green wall surrounding the village.
For the people of Sirikadu, removing the dump yard isn't removing an eye sore amidst the scenic beauty they live in. It is a matter of breathing fresh air, drinking clean water and having meals without having to swat flies with their left hand.
