Gurgaon: Burning garbage mound puts Sector 23 on the choke

While the city’s air quality improved slightly on Saturday, a huge mass of plastic and garbage was set on fire at Sector 23A

 While the ban imposed by Supreme Court on sale of crackers helped Gurgaon to breathe easier post-Diwali, but the residents of Sector 23A were in for a shock on Friday night as a huge mass of plastic and garbage was put to fire by unscrupulous elements that left the over 10,000 residents choking.

Traffic policemen direct city traffic wearing anti-pollution masks handed out by a private hospital on Saturday. (Parveen Kumar/HT PHOTO)

Locals alleged that the fire started around 2.30pm, but since there was strong wind the impact of the smoke was less initially. However, later the toxic fumes surrounded the entire sector and choked it for around 9-10 hours, residents said.

The fire was started at a 6.5-acre vacant plot adjacent to Northcap University that has been made into a makeshift waste-dumping site by unauthorised colonies, residents, and hotels around Sector 23A. Although the plot has been marked as institutional and is meant for setting up a hospital, but residents said that despite repeated appeals to the authorities no development has taken place there.

“We spent the entire night sleepless as the residents of sector, and adjoining Carterpuri village gasped and choked, and their eyes burned with toxic fumes from the burning waste that was spread over 3 acres of land. Smoke could even be seen after 12 hours,” said Bhawani Shanker Tripathy, a sector resident, and member of the RWA.

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“We have repeatedly requested HUDA Estate office (as they own the plot) to fence this plot, so that access to it can be restricted. Our efforts have only fallen on deaf ears. HUDA officials tell us to go to MCG and vice versa,” said Tripathy.

Krishan Kumar Yadav, a resident of Sector 23A, said that the authority should earmark a proper site for dumping garbage, and strict action should be taken against violators.

Meanwhile, MCG said that they have received the complaint in this regard and they will challan violators who are found burning waste.

However, to find an institutional solution to the issue, the corporation has also identified a site, which would be earmarked as a proper waste-dumping station. “The process of earmarking a waste-dumping site in this area would be completed by next week. The corporation will also check the ownership of the said plot, and directions would be issued to take corrective measures,” said V Umashankar, commissioner, MCG.