Vijayawada: Frequent fires at the Ajith Singh Nagar garbage dump yard create problems for local residents. Thick smoke emanating from the burning garbage irritates people and causes health problems. The Fire Department has been attempting to control the fire for the past five days.
The dump yard, which lies in the heart of the city, was almost full; and fires are quite common. With garbage being burnt round-the-clock, residents of Vambay Colony, Ajith Singh Nagar, Devi Nagar and other areas nearby have been complaining of dust allergies, skin ailments and eye irritation.
“We are facing a lot of problems because of the fire in the dumping yard. Smoke emanates from the garbage and frequently causes us breathlessness; this is affecting our health. The civic body does not consider the problems faced by us due to the smoke and the bad odour,” said Jaleel Babu, a resident of Vambay Colony.
The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) is facing serious criticism regarding this issue. Locals have raised questions about the integrity of the civic body and claim that they are intentionally burning garbage.
“Despite our complaints over the last five days, the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation hasn’t implemented any proper measure to stop the fire,” said M. Satyanarayana, a resident who lives nearby.
Dr Gopi Naik, the Chief Medical and Health Officer of the VMC said that the neighbouring iron foundry and the leaching of acids from garbage were the main reasons behind the fire. He said that inflammable substances that have been dumped in the garbage also contribute towards the fire. He also said that the VMC had stopped using that particular dump yard.
