Open house: What needs to be done to check fire incidents at dumpsite?

Create regulated waste disposal system

Despite the fact that environmental protection should be a top priority when discarding garbage, the majority of us continue to indulge in throwing waste out in the open. Many people aren’t aware that even unintentional garbage disposal can harm the environment and put people’s lives in trouble. As a result of one such irresponsible garbage disposal, seven innocent lives were recently charred to death at the MC’s largest dumpsite. If garbage had been segregated at the source, the incident could have been avoided. Keeping these considerations in mind, the authorities must develop a regulated waste disposal system. Officials who are responsible for the tragedy should be severely penalised.

Novin Christopher

Give harsh punishment to guilty

Harsh punishment must be given to those who are responsible for the burning of waste at the MC’s dumpsite. Moreover, proper arrangements must be made by the authorities to dispose of such huge quantity of waste at regular intervals so that it can’t be accumulated for such a long time. The waste should be disposed of by the authorities concerned without harming anybody. However, compensation must be awarded to families affected by such incidents.

Ritu Priya

Erect walls around dump

It is unfortunate to read about the death of seven family members due to a fire that erupted at a hut located near a garbage dump. The authorities concerned must be held responsible for not taking precautionary measures as a fire incident occurred a second time in the past some days. The Municipal Corporation must erect four walls around the garbage dump and nobody should be allowed to live in its vicinity. Some fire extinguishers must be installed near the dump to control any fire incident in future. Some officials should be deployed there for surveillance. Garbage must be segregated and all burnable material must be dumped separately under the supervision of experts.

Mohd Saleem Farooqui

Create proper infra for waste collection

Exemplary punishment to the officials concerned should be given in such acts of negligence, as it would act as a deterrent for newly appointed officials. But, it must be assured that a proper area for waste dumping should be created somewhere far from the residential areas. A proper infrastructure for collecting waste from homes, segregated in different containers, should be created. Hygienic transportation and proper scientific decomposition of garbage must be ensured.

Khushkaran Singh

Deploy officials at dumpsite

Garbage dump must be located far away from the city. Nobody should be allowed to live near it. Teams from the civic body must conduct inspections regularly. Surveillance through drones must be carried out on a daily basis. CCTVs must be installed along the dumpsite as it can help in case of any fire incident. The MC must deploy some officials at the site to prevent any untoward incident.

Farzana Khan

Joint efforts by admn, people needed

The employees concerned must be punished for dereliction of duty. It is their primary duty to safeguard the lives of residents living in and around dumpsites. On the other hand, it is the moral responsibility of people to be vigilant regarding such incidents. The piling up of garbage must be checked at regular intervals. The administration should make sincere efforts to control the increasing quantity of garbage. The garbage disposal work can be allotted to a private firm. Some NGOs can also be roped in for the cause. The public can also lend a helping hand in the matter. Collaborative efforts by the administration and residents can help in resolving the issue.

Bir Devinder Singh Bedi

Civic body should keep vigil at dumpsite

“Garbage collected from the city is required to be stored at one or the other place for some time till its disposal. However, it should be kept safe from fire as fire incidents lead to environmental pollution which is hazardous for people and also other living beings. Poisonous gases are produced by burning of garbage which will affect people living around dumpsites. The Municipal Corporation is responsible for the management of garbage in the city and it must be vigilant to prevent any untoward incident. Arrangements must be put in place by the corporation to prevent any fire incident. A source of water should also be available near the site. Also, facility of spraying of water must also be available as provided in case of forest fires in western countries. Everybody is concerned about pollution created due to the burning of organic materials and that is why even the burning of stubble by farmers is being stopped using different means. The corporation must also learn from past experiences wherein many lives have been lost due fire erupted in garbage dumps.”

Gautam Dev

Register FIR, convict guilty

Recently, there was a news about fire burning at the dumpsite. It’s dangerous. Non-segregation of garbage by the authorities and people, or negligence by municipal corporation departments might be the cause behind the fire at the dumpsite. Sometimes MC workers put garbage on fire. People responsible for the incident should be booked and convicted severely. Without giving punishment such negligence can’t be checked. Also, people living in the vicinity of dumpsite should be alert and live in a designated area marked by the Municipal Corporation. The government should give compensation for loss of life and property to victims. Money for the same should be taken from those accountable for such tragedies.

Sukhdev Sharma

Upgrade waste processing plant

The administration should upgrade waste processing plant to clear garbage at the dumping ground as soon as possible. There should be strict prohibition on the use of plastic bags. Recyclable materials should be used by residents. Everyone should follow the principle of ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’ waste. Effective landfill management by the Municipal Corporation is necessary to prevent the occurrence of fires at the dumping ground, which create pollution in the environment. Composting techniques can be adopted by households. These will reduce waste, generate employment and control land and environment pollution to some extent. The civic body officials concerned should be held personally responsible and given exemplary punishment for the grave negligence.

Adish Sood

Strengthen waste processing

The NGT monitoring committee visited the main garbage dumpsite of the city on Tajpur Road on April 27 and expressed displeasure over big mountains of legacy waste that have come up at the dumpsite as the civic body failed to ensure waste processing. MC officials were pulled up for the huge accumulation of waste. Residents living in nearby areas of the dumpsite have been raising a hue and cry as the toxic smoke emitted out of the dump has been causing respiratory problems. Regular fire incidents are being reported from the dumpsite for the past some days. The burning garbage at the dump may cause fire incidents in nearby shanties. The poor solid waste management in the city is resulting in air and water pollution. The waste processing plant of the MC is in a dilapidated state and is lying closed since long. Efforts should be made to resume the operations at the plant. A boundary wall should be constructed around the garbage dumpsite. Inflammable materials should not be kept at the dumpsite to avoid fire incidents. Public action committee members are already holding protests against the illegal dumping of garbage. The Chief Minister and the Local Bodies Department should take cognisance of the matter and order a high-level probe in the matter.

RS Sembhi

Fix accountability, impose fine

Garbage dumps are found in every nook and corner of Ludhiana and some are as big as hills. Recent fire in a huge garbage dump has caused an irreparable loss. It could not be controlled promptly. The authorities concerned should be made accountable and heavily fined. They should answer why refuse at the MC dump was not regularly disposed of.

Sunil Chopra

Govt should help fire incident victims’ kin

The unfortunate fire incident occurred at a shanty in Ludhiana needs to be analysed from different aspects. The pertinent question arises is how such huge quantity of garbage was allowed to assemble at the nearby MC dumpsite. People do not know that most of the materials they are using nowadays are highly inflammable. The government is responsible for the hut fire tragedy and it should come forward to help kin of the victims.

Harguneet

Form probe panel

It is a matter of concern that a fire is burning at the MC’s dumpsite in the city and seven persons were charred to death in a fire occurred in a hut located near the dumpsite. They died in sleep. This entire sordid affair happened due to the carelessness of the Municipal Corporation. The government should take a serious note of the incidents by forming an inquiry committee and its findings ought to be published in newspapers. Persons responsible for it should be severely punished. The government must fix accountability for the incidents.

Balwin Kaur

Take concrete steps to stop fire incidents

The devastating fire incident occurred in a hut in the vicinity of the MC dumpsite in Ludhiana has astonished everybody. The first reason that comes to the mind of the people is that the government is responsible for the tragedy. The government should take concrete measures to stop incidents of fire. The lives of seven persons who died in the fire incident should not go waste and the government must learn a lesson from it.

JBS Nanda

QUESTION

Even as the incidence of cancer among women is on rise, a very few women go for screening to detect cancer at preliminary stage in the district, a national survey has revealed. The National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), conducted by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, through the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai, has showed that an average of 0.5 per cent women aged between 30 and 49 years have opted for screening to detect cervical cancer, breast cancer or oral cancer in them in Ludhiana district. What should be done to promote cancer screening among women for early detection and treatment of the dreaded disease? Suggestions in not more than 70 words can be sent to [email protected]

Suggestions in not more than 70 words can be sent to [email protected]

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