by Two days ago, a massive fire broke out at the Dadumajra dumping site. It is recorded that over five lakh litres of water were utilized to finally douse the fire. The fire at the Dadumajra dumping site was entirely extinguished by Friday.
Tippers and JCBs are still in operation scrubbing the area to put out any residual fire. An officer has been allocated to evaluate damages. Up until now, no such damages have been reported.
A senior official of the fire department said that roughly over 6 lakh litres of water was used in the whole extinguishing operation. One standby fire tender is still stationed.
Vinod Vashisht, convener of the City Forum of Residents Welfare Organisations (CFORWO) said, “This has created fear among residents of surrounding areas. Foul and toxic smoke has spreads and many residents have reported difficulty in breathing, choking of throat, irritation in eyes, chest congestion and sleepless nights.”
He added, “On much-needed city solid waste management reforms, MC House is not proactive in taking timely decisions in the city’s interest. Since June 2020 when the MC took over reins of the waste processing plant from Jaypee Group, solid waste end-processing has totally collapsed.”
“We cannot get rid of toxins like furan and dioxin which are harmful for humans without scientifically processing. The corporation should first get the plant repaired or upgraded so only non-recyclable and inert wastes go to the dumpsite and remaining 85-90 waste is processed,” said Pankaj Gupta, president, Sector 38W RWA.
This occurrence has also put the management of city solid waste under the scanner of the National Green Tribunal (NGT). The NGT Act, 2010 looks into the matters of environmental issues.
The public is highly disappointed by the authorities dealing with the waste and its disposal. It has also been observed that the city beautiful is turning into a junk yard and all this is due to the negligence of MC Chandigarh and the Project Proponent.
In addition to this, many success stories that are also cost-effective have been stated as an example of becoming a zero-landfills with their scientifically waste processing. This included cities like: Alappuzha, Ambikapur, Indore and Thiruvananthapuram.
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