Jhuriwala dumping ground catches fire as residents continue to oppose shifting

THE JHURIWALA garbage dumping site has been on fire since Sunday noon, days after the process of shifting solid waste from the Sector 23 dumping ground to the Jhuriwala site began.

Residents said that the trans Ghaggar sectors were covered with smoke throughout the day. The incident comes in light of continuous protests against the shifting of dumping ground site.

“This new Jhuriwala dumping ground has been on fire since Sunday noon and has created dense smoke in the sectors of trans-Ghaggar area. We have written several letters which share the concern of almost 20,000 odd residents of the area against the MC Panchkula’s decision of shifting this and further dumping the solid waste of entire Panchkula city at Jhuriwala,” said a statement issued by Sanjeev Goyal, president, joint RWA association of trans-Ghaggar sectors.

“The fears expressed by us in our letters to the administration as well as to the CM are coming true, witnessing this new dumping ground already on fire today. Such fires will put neighbouring wildlife as well as the entire forest area at risk. The dense smoke and polluted environment in our area has made our lives miserable. We once again request you to stop creating new dumping ground at Jhuriwala with immediate effect,” added the statement.

The residents have been opposing setting up of the proposed solid waste management plant at Jhuriwala site for the last more than ten years, requesting that the plant be shifted to place away from residential population.

The residents had also held a protest last month, and had submitted their concerns and demands to both Deputy Commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh and Mayor Kulbhushan Goyal.

The residents fear that decision “to dump solid waste of the City at Jhuriwala site will create another dumping ground in our residential area resulting in pollution of air and underground water.”