No time for 'trash' talk; there's a long, winding road ahead

PEOPLE usually walk away from waste dumps scrunching their nose.

-  NIRUPAMA VISWANATHAN

But Pughalvendhan V willingly walks toward them. The 32-year-old from Chittilapakkam has continued to wage a battle against scrapheaps despite his Dalit identity creating many a repercussion.

It was a simple bike ride that piqued Pughalvendhan's interest in resolving the issue. "Last year, I remember I had a gut feeling to take my bike to work instead of the car for a day. I was riding past the Narayanapuram lake when I spotted an illegal dump. If I had taken the car as I always do, I would never have found it." "It is destiny. I've never gone out in search for illegal waste dumps, they just catch my eye," said Pughal. He has flagged at least 40 cases of biomedical waste dumping near water bodies so far. Over the past five years, Pughalvendhan V has become a crusader for the amelioration of Chennai's ecological balance.

One thing he has learnt throughout his journey is to document evidence. He goes through these dumps to find names of the hospitals and labs printed on the faded bills and prescriptions he finds and meticulously collects them. Pughal pairs this with posting on social media to bring public attention to the issue.