Garbage set afire near MC office

Burning of garbage goes unchecked in the city and on Sunday night, it occurred near the Municipal Corporation’s Zone A office situated near Mata Rani Chowk.

Garbage was set on fire near the statue of Mahatma Gandhi, which is installed near the office and the fire was so strong that the flex board installed near the place was also got burnt.

Several complaints and petitions regarding the burning of garbage in the city are already pending with the National Green Tribunal (NGT).

As per directions of the Supreme Court and the NGT, burning of waste is a punishable offence and action must be taken against polluters. The NGT has imposed a ban on burning of waste in 2016 and there is a provision of imposing penalty of Rs 5,000 (minimum) and Rs 25,000 (maximum) on violators but these orders fail to be implemented properly.

Swatantar Singh, a resident of the Daresi Ground area who was returning home, said the fire was so huge that even the flex board was burnt.

“Usually beggars keep siting around the statue and they even sleep here during the night and I think, someone had burnt the garbage littered around,” he said.

A nearby shopkeeper said it was a common practice here. “Some people have made the place their home and setting garbage on fire has become a routine affair. Even we have asked them not to set the garbage on fire as it can result in some accident but to no avail,” he said.

Zonal Commissioner, Zone A, Chetan Bunger, said a few beggars often keep siting here all through the day. Since the place was located opposite a temple, devotees generally give them food and clothes due to which they have made it their permanent place.

“They often indulge in such activities and many times, I have ordered to extinguish the fire. Since, they lit the fire at night, it went unnoticed. I will try to come up with a permanent solution to the problem,” he said.