DHARWAD: For the last four days, a fire in legacy waste has been emitting toxic smoke, triggering fears of respiratory and other health issues among residents. The smoke is so dense that people are forced to shut their doors and stay indoors, while roads become nearly invisible when the smoke spreads across them.
Areas such as Daneshwari Nagar, Gandhi Nagar, Yallaki Shettar Colony, Hosayallapur, Malamaddi, Saraswatpur, Rajatgiri, Vivekananda Nagar, Lakshmi Nagar, Janath Nagar, Kalyan Nagar, Hanumanth Nagar and Ram Nagar, along with surrounding localities, have been affected. Some stretches of the Hubballi–Dharwad and Kalaghatgi highways have also been impacted.
HDMC officials said the cause of the fire is not yet known. Firefighters, Hubballi-Dharwad civic workers and water tankers have been deployed at the site to extinguish the blaze. Officials added that the legacy waste is being cleared gradually, but the garbage accumulated over the past 50 years will take a few more months to be removed.
The fire was first noticed on Friday night, and action was taken immediately. However, it spread due to dry weather conditions and the presence of plastic and other waste materials that fuel the flames. Two firefighting teams, five water tankers and more than 50 HDMC civic workers, along with earth movers, have been working continuously for the past three days.
“We have witnessed fire incidents in earlier years too, but this year the fire and smoke are more intense. The fire is under control, but the smoke emitted from the yard is creating trouble,” an official said.
A firefighter said plastic in the waste heap does not allow water to spread easily, while heat and gases developing inside the garbage trigger fire and smoke. “We have to dig into the garbage heap and douse the fire, which takes time. Moreover, vehicles cannot move easily on the garbage heaps,” he said.
Residents of the twin cities have criticised the HDMC authorities, alleging that negligence and the slow pace of converting legacy waste into manure have led to the situation.