An odour and a memory

On a section of OMR that includes Navalur, Egattur, Siruseri and even Kelambakkam, residents complain of an ammonia-type smell that keeps wafting in, from time to time. A resident of Olympia Opaline, who is bent on getting to the bottom of it, narrates his experience

A memory can waft in through an unexpected door. In his part of the world, Uday Kapoor is finding one such door left ajar often. From time to time, a rare odour wafts into his 14th floor flat in Navalur, bringing with it memories of his collegiate days.

Uday moved into Olympia Opaline two years ago, and over the last one year, he is finding himself, intermittently, strapped into this time-travel machine.

“Probably a year ago, I got the first hint of this odour. Whenever it wafts in, it is never daytime, but evening (6 p.m. onwards) or night. And when this odour shows up, the wind blows from south to north,” notes Uday. “It is certainly not the smell of sewage. It comes close to a smell I would experience back in the 1990s, at one point of the daily suburban train journey to Tambaram where I was studying in a college. At that time, a Ponds factory functioned at Chromepet and when the train would chug past this facility, a similar smell would float around.”

Uday notes that two weeks ago, this odour was overpowering and he initiated a conversation about it in the community’s WhatsApp group and an overwhelming number of residents agreed about the intensity of the smell.

Subsequently, they realised they were not alone in this situation. Residents of other areas and communities on this OMR belt, including Egattur, Siruseri and even Kelambakkam, were also being assaulted by this smell. It is widely described as an ammonia-type odour.

Uday is still on a quest to identify the source of the odour. Towards that end, he has even installed a device that measures the quantity of any organic compound in the air.

In Siruseri

A resident of Eden Park, a gated community in Siruseri, notes that residents have complained that the smell is felt in the evening hours (around 4 p.m.) — not every day, but intermittently. And they have reported it as an ammonia-type smell.

The resident adds that the general impression is that the smell is related to what one might experience in a factory, and that it is not sewage- or garbage-related.

The resident continues: “I have not faced it, because I live in a flat on the side facing Sholinganallur (north-facing): those who have complained are residents of flats facing Kelambakkam.”

Reportedly, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board has established an air monitoring system in Kelambakkam to study the issue.

Churning of garbage can be behind it, says a facility manager

There is divided opinion on this issue. While some at Olympia Opaline believe the odour sweeping through the community at certain times is not related to the garbage transit point nearby, there are others who believe it is.

P. Suresh, manager, Olympia Opaline Owners Association, underlines a long-standing issue, one that has been a thorn in the community’s side.

“A service lane near Olympia Opaline leads to a garbage transit point not too far from the Buckingham Canal. The space falls within Muttukadu panchayat limits, but the Navalur panchayat is operating this garbage transit point. Garbage is accumulated and cleared once in a month, and when that happens, the JCBs churn the garbage letting out an unbearable smell. When garbage is removed, residents complain about the smell,” says Suresh, adding little value to the theory that ammonia gas-like smell is now wafting in the air from time to time.

Suresh adds, “Besides, burning of garbage happens in Kanathur on the ECR side and that also causes an assault on residents’ senses. Complaints to Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board about garbage burning have not had a major impact.”

Published - September 21, 2024 08:38 pm IST