Fire incidents at dumping sites add to waste management problems

Despite the local MLAs raising the issue of garbage dumps in the Assembly, the Municipal Corporation (MC) has no alternative plan to manage waste effectively. The situation is expected to worsen as the private solid waste management firm handling garbage collection will cease operations in August.

A day after the Aam Aadmi Party’s MLA from Amritsar North, Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, highlighted the issue of garbage disposal in Ranjit Avenue, a fire broke out at another temporary dump site on Majitha Road. The fire caused severe inconvenience to commuters as dense smoke engulfed the area near ESI Hospital. The location is particularly sensitive, with two major hospitals — Guru Nanak Hospital and ESI Hospital — situated nearby. The smoke from the fire created discomfort for patients and residents alike.

Residents of nearby localities, especially those in the ESI staff colony, have been severely affected. Schoolgoing children and daily commuters struggled to navigate through the thick smoke. Although two tenders from the fire department arrived and managed to extinguish the flames, concerns about the recurring problem remain unaddressed.

With no clear plans emerging from the authorities residents fear that the city’s waste management crisis will only deepen, posing health and environmental hazards. Locals are demanding the immediate removal of the roadside dump site.

“Earlier, it was just a collection point where mini-trucks, collecting garbage door-to-door, transferred their load on to compactor trucks. However, due to the negligence of the solid waste management company hired by the MC, this collection point has turned into a permanent dumping ground. The MC should remove it immediately, as this is not a suitable location for waste disposal,” said Gurpreet Bhullar, a resident of Majitha Road. Expressing frustration over the problem that recurs regularly, another resident Saurabh Sharma said, “MLAs from the city repeatedly raise this issue in the Punjab Assembly, yet the government fails to provide a solution. Raising concerns is not an achievement, fixing the problem is. These temporary dump sites are emerging in every area of the city, not just in Ranjit Avenue.”