Stray dogs, piles of garbage and open defecation are not only a common sight in residential areas but also on the premises of the the Vellore Collectorate.
Visitors to the Collectorate would be greeted by stray dogs fighting or napping under the trees on the Collectorate premises.
As if dogs were not enough, officials said monkeys have started creating havoc on the premises again. Officials of various departments in the Collectorate said the administration had recently pressed the forest department personnel into action to get rid of monkeys. Eight monkeys were trapped and released into the forest. However, a few of them escaped being trapped and are now adding to the woes of the employees and visitors of the Collectorate.
“Piles of garbage being dumped behind the ‘A’ and ‘B’ blocks attract stray animals. Food left over by visitors and employees make the campus a haven for these stray animals,” said a government employee. Apart from the stray animal menace, the garbage and plastic waste piling up pose a serious health hazards, said another officer.
The Vellore Corporation which is responsible for clearing the garbage periodically, has failed to do so, he added. “Top officials are not even aware of the pathetic condition of the backyard of their own office,” he said.
Recollecting the recent statement of Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh, who had stated that India is the world’s capital of open defecation, a regular visitor to the collector said, “The Collectorate seen with heaps of garbage and people urinating in the open place inside the campus is the clear evidence why our country is the capital of open defecation.”
Another official said though there were around 40 toilets in each block, several government employees were using the open space behind the buildings to answer the call of nature. “Most of the employees are using the open place as toilets because the toilets in the buildings are not clean,” he added.
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