Fire in Pollachi dumpyard chokes nearby areas

Up to four tonnes of waste collected from houses, commercial establishments and hotels belonging to 15 wards in the town panchayat limits were dumped in the yard, which is spread over three acres.

On receiving information from public about the fire, the panchayat staff rushed to the spot and managed to douse the fire in a few hours’ time with water brought in tractors.

Though the fire was controlled, heavy smoke continued to emanate out of the garbage dump through the day. Motorists on the Valparai Road faced difficulties due to the thick blanket of smoke which hung over the area. They were forced to turn on their head lights due to poor visibility. Residents also claimed that the smoke posed a severe heath concern to them.

According to sources, garbage generated from the panchayat was dumped at a ‘poramboke’ land along the Valparai Road over the last 50 years.

Though the quantity of garbage reaching the yard had been increasing in recent years, no efforts were taken to implement an efficient waste management system, residents rued.

“There has been a frequent break out of fires in the yard due to lack of a proper monitoring mechanism. Efforts should be taken to prevent further such incidents as there are two petrol stations nearby and there is threat of them catching fire,” said S Mahalingam, a local resident. Farmers too claimed that their crops get dried up due to frequent fires in the yard.

However, the town panchayat officials claimed that they couldn’t implement a waste management system by segregating garbage due to space constraints. “As a result, all types of garbage are dumped in the yard without being segregated,” an official said.