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Ludhiana locals irked over burning of waste, plaint lodged
Recalling a particular instance, he said, “Despite the presence of a poclain machine (excavator) nearby, workers failed to take necessary measures to extinguish the flames; we had called the fire brigade to douse the flames at the garbage dump”
A city based non-governmental organisation (NGO) has registered a formal complaint with the department of local bodies and municipal corporation (MC) commissioner regarding the burning of garbage in large quantities at an open plot adjacent to under-construction Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) in Hambran Road Dairy Complex, Ludhiana.
According to Council of Engineers, they witnessed significant burning of garbage at an open plot near the ETP’s construction site. Council president Kapil Arora said the emission of thick black smoke indicates the combustion of plastics and other rubber materials, posing a severe threat to environment.
Recalling a particular instance, he said, “Despite the presence of a poclain machine (excavator) nearby, workers failed to take necessary measures to extinguish the flames. We had called the fire brigade to douse the flames at the garbage dump.”
NGO members claimed that the accumulation of garbage near the site suggests a failure in daily waste collection efforts by MC, as mandated in district environment plan. They alleged that no action has been taken against offenders and burning waste is a punishable offence under environmental laws. They also highlighted the prevalence of waste burning incidents in the areas near Gurudwara Shri Arjun Dev at Samrala Chowk.
The complainants urged the civic body to fulfil its obligation of 100% door-to-door waste collection as outlined in the district environment plan and to enforce penalties against polluters in accordance with the law.
Chief sanitary inspector Ashwani Sahota, said, “We will issue challan to the violators and get the facts checked and verify who were involved in this issue”.
