Forest staff with the lorry laden with garbage on Kotagiri road on Wednesday.
Lorry dumping garbage in forest seized
Forest Department staff will check the contents in bags today
The Forest Department seized a truck after garbage including wastes of needles were allegedly dumped in the forest on Mettupalayam-Kotagiri road on Wednesday evening.
The garbage was dumped in the forest at the first hairpin bend of the ghat section which falls under Sirumugai forest range of Coimbatore Forest Division. After the lorry crew was caught in act, officials made them collect the garbage and load the waste back to the vehicle.
E.N. Manoharan, Forest Range Officer, Sirumugai forest range, said that the forest staff was on high vigil in the area following repeated instances of miscreants dumping garbage in forests of the ghat section. Men in mufti were tasked for patrols to find the offenders.
“Preliminary inquiry found that the garbage was brought from an industry based at Yellanahalli in the Nilgiris. A man had taken contract to dispose of the garbage and he sent the truck load to a scrap dealer in Mettupalayam. However, the scrap dealer accepted only selected garbage and sent back the remaining, a portion of which the crew of the lorry dumped in the forest,” he said.
Mr. Manoharan said that the truck was taken into custody and the forest staff would check the contents of the garbage bags on Thursday.