Biomedical waste dumped in open triggers panic

Several tonnes of biomedical waste were found dumped below the railway flyover in Dera Bassi on Friday,causing panic among residents.

Around noon,two huge heaps of medicines were seen below the flyover. On getting information,the local police reached the spot and found that white and pink colour tablets and injections were lying on the side of the Dera Bassi-Mubarikpur road beneath the flyover.

The dumped medicines were packed in big packets,which bore the stickers of a leading pharmaceutical company. The medicines appear to have past their expiry date or are contaminated as they were discarded here,said the police.

Dera Bassi Deputy Superintendent of Police J S Khaira said dumping of medical waste in the open was strictly prohibited and they had to be destroyed as per the rules. Samples have been collected and further investigations in the case are on,said the DSP.

Pertinently,a special plant has been established at Nimbuawala village near Dera Bassi for treating biomedical waste products which are accumulated from all over Punjab and destroyed on a daily basis,said Samarjeet Goyal,an official of Punjab Pollution Control Board. Appropriate proceedings under the Environmental Protection Act will be initiated against those found guilty, he added.

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