Aurangabad: The waste dump at Padegaon caught fire again on Saturday and the fire brigade was called in for help. However, the fire was so widespread that it couldn’t be completely controlled until Sunday evening.In a third major incident in the last three months, around 20,000 to 30,000 tonne of waste dumped at Padegaon caught fire causing huge smoke and ash. Incidentally, the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) started dumping waste at Padegaon in March last year after it was restricted from taking the waste to the Naregaon dumping ground. Initially, the AMC officials convinced the locals that they were only going to process waste and not engage in the dumping of waste. The AMC did process waste for the first few weeks by undertaking aerobic composting.However, little by little, the processing stopped and the site was converted into a dumping ground. In September-October of last year, the AMC had hired a team from the Mahatma Gandhi Mission (MGM) to undertake waste processing. The team was spraying bio-culture over the waste. In the second week of November, the MGM confirmed that it is not undertaking any steps to process waste at Padegaon.For the last three months, there is no processing carried out at the site by the AMC. However, around 100 tonne of waste is being dumped at the site daily.Local residents said that although major fire occurs frequently, the waste is constantly emitting smoke even when there is no fire, which is leading to respiratory complaints among residents.“While there is no processing on the mixed waste dumped at the site, the fire tender sprays water over the waste to control the fire. The water sprayed over the waste trickles down into our drinking water wells,” said a local farmer.“The complaints of gastro and cough and cold have increased significantly over the last few months. However, there is no special consideration by the AMC towards the health concerns of the locals,” said another nearby resident. In fear of police action, the people are refraining from openly identifying themselves.According to the order issued on December 22, 2016, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has prohibited burning of waste on lands including landfill sites. Violators are liable to pay environmental compensation of Rs5000 in a case of simple burning and Rs25,000 for bulk waste burning.When asked about the violation by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), NGT sub regional officer Jayant Kadam said that the board will ask the AMC to take measures to prevent such fires. “We will also ask them to expedite the task of setting up the processing units,” said Kadam.

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