Khanna dump yard catches fire again

Ludhiana: Residents of few villages in Khanna area had to suffer as fire engulfed the garbage dump near Rasoolra village on Friday. The fire department said it will take about two days to put it out completely.
On April 14, a major fire had erupted in the garbage dump and later villagers had lodged protest demanding shifting of dump from the area.
Harpal Singh, a villager of Bahomajra village, said he saw the fire on Friday and in the night it had intensified. He added that as wind was blowing in the area, it increased the risk of spread of blaze. but luckily it did not spread.
“It was a massive fire and flames were going up to certain height. As the smoke emanating from burning of garbage is quite poisonous, villagers, especially elderly and children, had to suffer because of it. I saw fire tenders going towards the dump to control the fire and now the fire has been controlled,” said Harpal Singh.
The villagers said their requests for shifting of dump is going unheard.
“No one listens to us. We had met the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) who had asked us to wait for two months for solution to the problem. Now that fire had erupted at the dump, we will meet her again on Monday. Smoke continues to emanate from dump and is affecting villagers in three villages, including Rasoolra, Ikolahi, Bahomajra and Bhatiyan,” said Gurdeep Singh, sarpanch of Rasoolra village. He too demanded the shifting of garbage dump from the area as it is causing problems to villagers.
Fire officer in Khanna, Yashpal Rai said till now six to seven fire tenders have made rounds of the dump to put off fire and it has been controlled. He added that as the fire in garbage dump goes deep, so it will take about two days to fully put the fire off.
A villager of the area asking not to be named claimed that the land was acquired by the sewerage board in 1997-98 for a sewerage treatment plant (STP) and after it was installed, the MC started dumping garbage in it without using it for the purpose it was acquired. He added that villagers have suffered because of the dump as cases of cancer, respiratory and skin related ailments are reported from the villages near it.