Coimbatore residents should adopt responsible waste disposal practices and refrain from littering public spaces and waterbodies, speakers said at a community cleaning drive jointly organised by Siruthuli, PSG & Sons’ Charities and Coimbatore Corporation, at GV Residency in Coimbatore city on Sunday (June 21, 2026).

The programme, titled “Watch Your Waste”, was organised to create awareness on waste management as part of the ongoing efforts to restore 3.6 km of a 13-km Gandhimaa Nagar Stream, an urban water channel that drains into Irugur Lake.

Addressing the participants, Singanallur MLA K.S. Sri Giri Prasath urged the public to cooperate with civic authorities and voluntary organisations in protecting waterbodies and public spaces. Referring to the 300-acre Singanallur Lake, he said such waterbodies affected by sewage inflow and solid waste pollution would be restored and developed for public use.

Coimbatore Corporation Commissioner Katta Ravi Teja urged residents to hand over waste to conservancy workers instead of dumping it in open spaces. While the Corporation regularly removed waste dumped along roadsides, waste being discarded into waterbodies continued to pose a major challenge, he said.

Siruthuli Managing Trustee Vanitha Mohan said waste management required attention on a war footing and urged the public to not be careless in disposing of waste. Such community awareness programmes were being organised to promote responsible waste management and public participation in protecting water resources.

According to a study by Siruthuli, faecal coliform levels in Urumandampalayam Pond exceeded 80,000 due to sewage contamination. The organisation noted that polluted waterbodies could affect groundwater aquifers through seepage, underscoring the need to prevent sewage inflow and waste dumping.

Desilting and bund-strengthening works were completed along a 3.5-km stretch of the Gandhimaa Nagar Stream. Fencing and algae-based remediation measures would be taken up from June 25 as part of the next phase of restoration efforts.

The event was attended by L. Gopalakrishnan, Managing Trustee of PSG & Sons’ Charities, along with members of the public and school students.