TRICHY: The Trichy Municipal Corporation has come in for sharp criticism for its inability to find a permanent solution to frequent fire incidents at the garbage dump yard at Ariyamangalam.
Meanwhile, all measures to contain the latest fire at the 47-acre yard by the fire and rescue personnel have come a cropper for the second day on Monday. Nearby residents and motorists on the busy Trichy-Thanjavur Road are struggling to evade the fumes rising from the burning garbage.
The corporation has so far made several proposals to curtail air pollution from the garbage yard. Council meetings had even passed resolutions on the issue and spent considerable amount to curb pollution. Proposals such as starting a bio-reactor, increasing the capacity of the solid waste management centre and finding an alternative site are yet to be executed.
Senior corporation officials say a detailed project report on scientific capping of the entire compost yard is planned and it will be implemented soon. However, the project deadline is yet to be known.
Following successive fires last year a committee was set up to limit the sporadic flare-ups. The committee had given a report to the corporation and its commissioner suggesting the scientific capping method. However, these proposal too is yet to be implemented.
Scientific capping or sanitary landfill project also helps in reducing the menace of flies, birds, dogs and pigs that get attracted to the garbage. It also helps reduce stench.
As a temporary solution a part of the garbage is now being dumped at Panchapur where a sewage treatment plant is located, said corporation sources. Moreover, the corporation has given a part of its five-acre land at the Ariyamangalam yard to a private company for solid waste management. About 200 tonnes are being processed here.
Corporation has also failed to implement safety measures such as building a watch tower and stationing of fire-fighting vehicles at the entrance of the yard. Besides, the removal of waste for safe and easy movement of fire-fighting vehicles during fire is yet to be done.
Several residents in the locality have been constantly demanding to shift the garbage yard, but the corporation is yet to find a solution, said Kannan S, a resident of Ariyamangalam.
