Days after residents complained about the garbage flooding the service road in the area, thick white smoke due to burning of the garbage from NH-48 (Mumbai-Bengaluru Highway) irked local residents.
According to members of nearby housing societies, the burning of garbage occurred on Thursday night.
The smoke from the burning garbage quickly spread to various housing societies nearby, causing difficulties for motorists commuting through it for a few minutes. An activist cited that this practice violates the solid waste management rules of the civic body in a conversation with The Free Press Journal.
Activists slams PMC
Raja Subramani, an activist, pointed out that the garbage burning is a result of the failure to collect waste at the source and highlighted that multiple complaints from residents could bring attention to and help resolve the issue.
He said, "For example, in Lohegaon, small grocery outlets do not give their trash to the collection agency as the service is not free. They choose to burn it. The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) also has manpower issues when it comes to imposing penalties. Furthermore, whenever there is an issue with vehicles, the sweepers assigned to remove the roadside trash choose to burn it. While PMC officers have taken action against their sweepers, the practice continues to foul the air and worsen the AQI. These days, while cycling around Lohegaon, I do request people to stop burning trash by asking whether they have 30-40 lakhs for cancer treatment. It does have an impact on some who understand."
Chaitanya Ket, a Kothrud resident, took to X (formerly known as Twitter) and wrote, "Why is there thick smoke on the highway near Baner? It turns out the source is garbage being burned along the roadside. After scavenging anything valuable, scrap vendors often resort to burning the remaining trash, as it’s deemed worthless."
Toxic smoke in atmosphere
Ashish Kotkar, another resident of Bavdhan, said, "Despite the directions issued by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), rampant open garbage burning continues in our area. The issue is frequent, and several complaints have been made to the PMC. There are small children and elderly citizens with health issues who daily breathe this toxic smoke. There is no fresh air to breathe. If we open the windows, the rooms fill with smoke."
Meanwhile, Sandip Kadam, head of the solid waste management department of the PMC, stated, "We deployed a team to clear the garbage spot near the highway, and it has been cleared, but burning garbage is illegal, and we will take strict action against the violators."
This comes days after we reported about the garbage flooding service roads. The NH-48, or Mumbai-Bengaluru highway, has become a garbage dumping spot, with the entire stretch from Wakad to Chandani Chowk being an eyesore filled with all kinds of waste like torn pillows, dirty stained mattresses, stale food items, abandoned TV sets, two-wheelers, broken mirrors, and furniture dumped along the roadside.
After we reported the news, the JCBs were sent to clean the garbage, however, now the garbage burning in the area has once again highlighted the mismanagement in garbage issue in the city.