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Journalism of Courage
Garbage that vanished from Mohali’s streets over the past few days is now being illegally dumped and burnt inside Phase 8B, exposing locals and Bariyali villagers to toxic fumes. The Indian Express visited the site and found waste-laden trucks entering through an unauthorised passage near the Airport Road bridge and unloading garbage nearly a kilometre inside, where it is set on fire to “destroy evidence”, residents alleged, adding that the fires have been raging for a fortnight.
Baliyali sarpanch Kulbir Singh said the Municipal Corporation (MC) was bypassing proper waste-processing sites and resorting to open dumping and burning. “The government’s drones can catch farmers burning stubble within an hour and impose heavy fines along with police action. But this garbage fire has been burning for the last 15 days, no drone has caught it, nor the police have taken action,” he said.
He added that despite ensuring “zero stubble burning” in his village, residents were being forced to inhale toxic fumes from the city’s waste. “Whenever the wind blows towards the city, even urban residents breathe poisonous air, yet the responsible departments are sitting with their eyes closed,” he said.
Local residents and industrial workers, including Naresh Dhiman, Ashwani Arora, Ashok Jha, Sector 74A resident Sanjeev Mishra and colony resident Kripa Shankar, said the smoke spreading across Phase 8B was causing breathlessness, eye irritation and persistent coughing.
Environmental experts warn that burning mixed waste and plastic releases carbon monoxide, PM 2.5 particles, dioxins and other toxins that pose severe risks to children, the elderly and asthma patients.
Open burning of waste is completely banned under the National Green Tribunal (NGT) orders, which prescribe heavy penalties for violations. Yet, residents say the MC has been dumping garbage in fields near Airport Road and Shaheed Udham Singh Colony and setting it ablaze so that “no one sees the waste and complaints reduced”.
In the busy stretch of Airport Road with thousands of vehicles passing, daily fires have reportedly continued for 15 days.
Mohali Regional Office Executive Engineer Navtesh Singla said the issue came to their notice only a week ago. “A fine of Rs 5,000 has been imposed on the Municipal Corporation. Fire brigade officials were instructed to extinguish the fire,” he said.
Deputy Commissioner Komal Mittal called it a “serious issue” and said it would be immediately taken up with the civic body.
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