4 min readChandigarhJun 1, 2025 02:18 AM IST
First published on: Jun 1, 2025 at 02:18 AM IST
By Serena Gujral
A massive fire broke out at the Dadumajra garbage dump on Saturday, May 31, with flames continuing to smoulder late into the evening despite a spell of rain. Fire tenders were deployed to control the blaze, which residents said had first erupted the night before.
Ironically, the incident occurred on the very day the Chandigarh administration had assured the Punjab and Haryana High Court that the landfill would be fully cleared.
Earlier, the legal counsel representing the Municipal Corporation, told the court that 40,000 metric tonnes of legacy waste had already been removed from the site and that the remaining two lakh tonnes would be cleared by May 31. He also claimed that no new garbage was being dumped at the site.
But the reality on the ground tells a different story. One sees mountains of trash covering acres upon acres of land.
“The deadline may be pushed by up to three months,” said an MC official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
Junior Engineer Vikas, posted at the Solid Waste Management Plant in Sector 25, however, maintained that the clean-up was progressing steadily. “Waste is cleared regularly, 24 hours a day, by workers in three 8-hour shifts. This schedule has been consistent since I joined one and a half years ago,” he said. Each shift includes maintenance, lunch breaks, and designated hours for processing waste in the morning and transporting it to factories in the evening. He added that the plant operates with adequate staff and vehicles, and that dry and wet waste is being segregated at source. “Hopefully, the dump should be cleared soon,” he said.
But for residents of Dadumajra Colony, situated right next to the dump, these official timelines and assurances have long lost credibility.
“We’ve been living in filth for decades,” said Dayal Krishna, a longtime resident. “The dumping ground has made our lives miserable—physically, socially, emotionally.”
Krishna described the severe toll on public health. “Our water is yellow in the mornings. We have to boil it, refrigerate it, then drink. Still, people fall sick. Around 75% of residents suffer from stomach issues—vomiting and loose motions. My daughter has been sick for an entire month. Many are admitted to PGI. The chemist often runs out of basic medicines.”
The garbage is visible from rooftops, and the smell and flies are constant. “We’re ostracised socially—young women struggle to find marriage proposals. Children don’t play outside because of the stench. Everyone lives here out of desperation—Chandigarh is too expensive to move elsewhere.”
While the administration continues to promise a clean-up, Krishna said garbage trucks still arrive regularly. “They haven’t stopped. The compost plant built on a reclaimed portion of the site doesn’t work properly. Waste just lies there. MRF belts are broken half the time.”
He also recalled the 2023 incident when the dump wall collapsed during heavy rain. “Waste flooded our homes. The Governor visited the dump, not us. They cleaned the site just for his visit. Police even locked us in our homes as his car passed. What’s the point of such visits if no one listens to us?”
Frustrated by years of inaction and growing public apathy, Krishna added, “Community meetings now see few people. Everyone is just busy surviving.”
“We are tired,” he said quietly. “We want honesty and hard work—not politicians and officers who do it for the cameras. Remove this dump and let us live with dignity.”
Ironically, the incident occurred on the very day the Chandigarh administration had assured the Punjab and Haryana High Court that the landfill would be fully cleared 
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