Trash burning engulfs area around Hinjewadi IT park in smog, locals call fire brigade to douse fire - Hindustan Times
close_game
close_game

Trash burning engulfs area around Hinjewadi IT park in smog, locals call fire brigade to douse fire

ByPrachi Bari
Dec 01, 2022 12:10 AM IST

Owing to the fire, local residents have reported cases of cough, throat infections and breathing problems for the past four days

Pune: The residents of Hinjewadi Information Technology Park, phase 3, have reported cases of cough, throat infections and breathing problems for the past four days due to open burning of garbage in their vicinity.

Hinjewadi phase 3 houses more than 10,000 residents across large townships. (HT file photo)
Hinjewadi phase 3 houses more than 10,000 residents across large townships. (HT file photo)

The members of Megapolis housing society had a harrowing time on Wednesday as local villagers burnt trash piled up on roadside citing ineffective garbage management system. Residents had to call fire brigade service to douse the fire as the area was engulfed in smog, leading to complaints about breathing problem with many taking to the social media to highlight their plight.

Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

In a tweet, resident Himanshu Vaidya said, “continuous illegal garbage dumping and burning going on in Hinjewadi phase 3 IT park. All nearby societies turned into gas chamber with children getting sick..”

Maan–Hinjewadi phase 3 houses more than 10,000 residents across large townships and small cluster societies. The residents have been complaining about smoky mornings since past two days.

“Initially we thought it was fog due to the cold weather, but when we saw soot flying in the air, settling on window sills of our homes, we were shocked to see smoke billowing out of the open private plot adjacent to the society and closer to the forest border,” said Sunny Joshi, a resident of Cliff Garden which has 672 flats, adding that no action has been taken despite repeated complaints.

“We hope the fire incident will get the attention of Maan gram panchayat, Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) and Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC),” Joshi said.

The elderly living at Megapolis Symphony complained of suffocation and cough. “We could see the fire burning and soon the entire area was covered with smoke. It was like a thick blanket surrounding the area. We alerted the fire brigade, but it was a tedious task as there is no road to reach the spot. This is a recurrent problem as the private open plot is often used by everyone to dump garbage,” said Sushil Mishra, resident of Megapolis Symphony society.

The residents invited authorities to visit the site on November 29, but found officials of PMRDA, Maan grampanchayat and MIDC arguing among themselves as to who will clear the site of garbage.

“We were taken aback that these officials instead of helping the residents were discussing boundaries,” said Joshi.

According to Madan Shelar, village development officer, Maangaon, 70 per cent of the area belongs to MIDC while remaining 30 per cent is divided equally (15% each) between Maan grampanchayat and PMRDA.

“We have a plant running since one and a half years to service Maangaon and small societies within our boundary. Big townships are supposed to take care of their garbage disposal, yet they come to us for help. We visited the site which is a private open plot, to which a new construction camp is set up. It may be possible that some labourers might have dropped by mistake a burning matchstick or cigarette which led to the dumped garbage catching fire,” said Shelar.

“We have stopped dumping on this plot by creating bunds and digging the approach road, yet sometimes people from nearby societies tend to drop their garbage here. It took fire tenders four hours to reopen the approach road to reach the plot and douse the fire,” he said.

PMRDA and MIDC officials were unavailable for comment despite repeated attempts to contact him on phone and message.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Share this article
SHARE
Story Saved
Live Score
OPEN APP
Saved Articles
Following
My Reads
Sign out
New Delhi 0C
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Start 14 Days Free Trial Subscribe Now
Follow Us On