Bhopal News: Ban On Garbage Burning Goes Up In Smoke; Zone 17 Residents Accuse BMC Staff Of Setting Garbage On Fire

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Despite a complete ban on garbage burning, incidents continue unabated across the city. On Sunday, multiple garbage heaps were set on fire in Vishwakarma Nagar Phase-2 of the Karond area.

Shockingly, the fires were allegedly started by employees of the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) themselves. Videos of the burning heaps went viral on the corporation’s own social media groups.

This is not the first such incident from the area. Earlier, videos had surfaced showing around 30 heaps of garbage burning simultaneously in the same locality.

However, Zone 17 in-charge assistant health officer (AHO) Ramratan Lohia had allegedly misled senior officials, claiming that local residents, not civic staff, were responsible for burning the garbage.

Local residents have once again accused Lohia’s team of deliberately setting the garbage piles ablaze instead of disposing as per the prescribed norms. When questioned, AHO said he was unaware of the incident and denied any involvement of his staff.

Residents allege that garbage burning has become a daily nuisance in Zone 17, with authorities failing to act on repeated complaints, raising concerns on negligence and lack of accountability within the municipal system.

Previously, former BMC Commissioner Harendra Narayan had ordered a strict probe into similar incidents and directed action against those responsible. However, no significant measures were taken, and the issue has since been neglected. BMC officials said that investigations are underway and assured that the action will be taken soon.

[Story by Staff Reporter]

Published on: Monday, October 06, 2025, 09:41 AM IST