Four days on, plastic garbage dump fire yet to be doused

  • | Friday | 1st November, 2019

Charanjit Singh TejaTribune News ServiceAmritsar, October 31Heaps of plastic wate of a local paper mill has been burning at a dump at the Fatehgarh Churian road since Sunday. Local residents say a massive fire erupted here on Diwali which is still not doused. Residents have been demanding strict action against the contractor, who reportedly set the plastic waste on fire. According to information, the contractor buys plastic waste from the Khanna Paper Mill and segregates plastic from the waste manually. Khanna Paper Mill officials say the mill is not responsible for the fire at dump as it belongs to the contractor.

Charanjit Singh Teja Amritsar, October 31 Heaps of plastic wate of a local paper mill has been burning at a dump at the Fatehgarh Churian road since Sunday. Local residents say a massive fire erupted here on Diwali which is still not doused. The dump site is in Birbalpur village along the Fatehgarh Churian road. Residents of nearby villages have been claiming that a contractor of paper mill has deliberately set the waste material on fire. Residents of Birbalpur, Sohian and Bal say even breathing has become a Herculean task due to dense smoke emanating from the waste. A few residents of a nearby farmhouse say they have left the house for a brief period as their children have been facing acute breathing problem. Residents have been demanding strict action against the contractor, who reportedly set the plastic waste on fire. According to information, the contractor buys plastic waste from the Khanna Paper Mill and segregates plastic from the waste manually. He has taken around four-acre land on rent where has been doing the business for the past few years. After segregation, he sells the plastic, but there is no other way to deal with the waste. Khanna Paper Mill officials say the mill is not responsible for the fire at dump as it belongs to the contractor. The waste can be used as fuel in brickkiln and cement factories. Pawan Sharma, manager of the paper mill, said, “Private contractors took this from the mill for segregation. The dump doesn’t belong to the mill. We have sent a proposal to the Punjab Pollution Control Board to allow us to set up a boiler to use the plastic waste in the mill. They did not respond. We have sent a fire engine to douse the flames.”

If You Like This Story, Support NYOOOZ

NYOOOZ SUPPORTER

NYOOOZ FRIEND

Your support to NYOOOZ will help us to continue create and publish news for and from smaller cities, which also need equal voice as much as citizens living in bigger cities have through mainstream media organizations.


Stay updated with all the Amritsar Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.

Related Articles

‘Emotional intelligence need of hour’
  • Wednesday | 11th December, 2019
Schools need to beef up students’ EQ
  • Wednesday | 11th December, 2019