A lesson on lack of civic sense

In O. Henry’s short story Last Leaf, a view from the window of a hospital room energises a pneumonic patient. The last leaf on an ivy telegraphs the idea of hope to the beleaguered patient. The tiny sliver of life on an otherwise denuded plant ends up causing a turnaround in her condition and leading to her full recovery. The view from the windows of a gated community on interior McNichols Road in Dasspuram, a whistling distance away from Pachiayappa’s College Hostel Road, has the opposite effect on those behind those windows. The squalor found around two garbage bins telegraph a sense of despondency to residents of the community, Dewside Manor. “Due to the nauseating pile of garbage, many, particularly seniors, have shut out this view, keeping the windows latched,” says Haresh Malhotra, an EC member of Dewside Manor association.

The gated community is wedged into the intersection of McNichols Road and Nowroji Road East-West. Those in flats that afford a view of both roads are content keeping open the windows overlooking Nowroji Road East-West.

Garbage being dumped with impunity on a interior section of McNichols Road in Dasspuram, Chetpet. Here is how the spot looked in the afternoon of October 31, 2025.
| Photo Credit:
PRINCE FREDERICK

Haresh observes that people from elsewhere also dump garbage at this spot. It is a congregating point for litterbugs. The Association has reportedly complained to Greater Chennai Corporation times without number, but the stalemate continues. The dumping of garbage is so persistent that it outstrips the frequency with which it is cleared. In the afternoon of October 31, when The Hindu Downtown took a look at this patch, garbage of various stripes were found, suggesting that it arrives from many coordinates.

The two garbage bins look battle-scarred with erosion of metal noticed at the bottom. They are “weakened” from age, not “overwork”, as the dumping happens more around the garbage bins than in them.

‘Lack of effective measures’

Haresh points out that the squalid patch is found right outside the compound wall of a school, Auxilium Girls Higher Secondary School, and as one proceeds further, there are three other major schools tucked away in the interiors. He finds it mystifying that effective measures are not being taken to check garbage dumping of this scale in a school zone. He adds that this road is a route being taken to reach a few hospitals.

When The Hindu Downtown got in touch with a Greater Chennai Corporation official familiar with the developments in that section on November 1 and apprised them about the issue, they said Corporation would have the issue addressed. According to a GCC official, in Zones four, seven and eight, transferring the management of conservancy operations to a private agency is likely to happen in January, 2026.

This section comes under Zone 8.