K. Manikandan Adhoc arrangement: Vacant plots in southern suburbs of Chennai serve as makeshift dump yards in the absence of effective and sound solid waste management practices by most urban and rural local bodies. A scene at Medavakkam. TAMBARAM: The inability to implement source segregation, shortage of landfill sites and poor support from the State government are the most important factors that come in the way of rural and urban local bodies in the southern suburbs of Chennai to put in place sound solid waste management practices. The southern suburbs of Chennai have a population of over 30 lakh in six municipalities, 13 town panchayats and 25 village panchayats. In addition to this, the floating population in the suburbs contributes a fairly large quantity of solid waste. But for a few locations in some of the local bodies where kitchen waste is converted into manure, garbage is dumped on waterbodies and along waterways and vacant spots in other areas. If the magnitude of the problem in Pallikaranai marshland is huge owing to the dumping of a few thousand tonnes of garbage in one designated location, in this region of Chennai it is spread over different pockets. Kannadapalayam, for instance, has been the dumping yard for garbage generated from all 39 wards of Tambaram Municipality. The problems of pollution in residential areas around it are immense. For years, children of a municipal school opposite the yard have been putting up with dust and smoke while in class and during lunch hour.