Burning of organic waste goes unchecked in Ludhiana parks
Pits have been established to collect organic waste which includes tree leaves and branches to turn into manure
With the municipal authorities already facing the flak from regulatory bodies over poor management of waste, regular incidents of fire of organic waste in the city parks’ compost pits by unknown miscreants have added fuel to the fire with residents facing the brunt of it.
The pits have been established to collect organic waste which includes tree leaves and branches to turn into manure. The pits have been created using iron fences which are to be maintained by the Park management committees.
The parks around Dugri, Chet Singh Nagar, Model Town, and Cheema Chowk, regularly witness such incidents where the compost pits established by the civic body are set on fire by unknown miscreants which become a headache for residents.
Recently, residents had also flagged the incident of fire at Ekta Park in Dugri near Sidhwan Canal.
Municipal corporation’s health branch officials said that strict guidelines have been issued to the park management committees, sanitation workers, gardeners and other staff not to burn the waste. However, the incidents of fire increased as the municipal authorities have failed to keep a check on the same.
Gurmeet Singh, a resident of Dugri, said, “The regular fire incidents are causing health issues for walkers and other residents living nearby.”
He said that a huge amount of organic waste remains dumped at the city parks without any treatment which is set on fire by unknown persons. He said that a permanent solution should be found for this.
Authorities pass the buck
Different branches of the municipal corporation passed the buck for issuing challans to the responsible persons.
MC health branch official Vipal Malhotra said, “It lays with the horticulture branch of the MC to issue challans,” while the horticulture branch officials said that the health branch is responsible for the same.
Kirpal Singh, junior engineer, horticulture branch said that a notice has been issued to the park management committee of the Ekta park in Dugri after the incident of fire came to light.
Procedure adopted by the MC “unscientific”
Kapil Arora, a member of a civil society group, said the MC has created a fenced area in the parks in the name of compost pits. He said that in order to create manure, the organic waste needs to be dumped into the earth. He said that the current procedure is hardly effective and remains prone to problems including fire incidents.
