BHUBANESWAR: Even as the capital city is battling aggravated air pollution, burning of wires and other electrical products to extract metal at a prime locality of the city right under the nose of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) speaks volumes about the apathy of the local administration and Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) to curb the menace.
Taking advantage of poor enforcement on part of BMC as well as OSPCB, unused and damaged wires and electrical products are regularly burnt in a locality close to Mali Sahi in Unit-III to extract precious metals, copper in particular, for selling it in the market.
The persons involved, mostly casual workers, are allegedly doing it on a small hilly patch of land, surrounded with waste near the slum for most parts of the year, without bothering much about the enforcement or the health hazard it posses to people living in the vicinity. BMC appears clueless about the activities.
The wires are burnt to extract copper which easily fetches Rs 500 to Rs 700 per kg in the market. While on some days the quantity of wires and materials burnt is just a few kilograms, on others it crosses half a quintal, sources said.
The activities have made lives of locals miserable as the fumes enter the buildings sometimes in copious amounts when the wind is favourable. The smoke also poses risk to patients of Neelachal hospital located just a few hundred metres from the burning site. The Odisha Forest Development Corporation office is also located in the vicinity which also has a mosque.
The area also has an urban night shelter for homeless. “As far as I know the burning activity has been taking place at the spot for the last several years”, claimed a local.“We have heard that they are burning wires to extract copper and other metals at the site. But it could also be other items including unused and stolen vehciles,” said a person from a nearby residential society.
Sources said residents of Chandrama apartment and other residential societies have already sought BMC’s intervention to address the issue as well as encroachment in the area but to no avail. Though BMC earlier this year had warned of Rs 10,000 fine against burning of any kind of waste or garbage instead of handing it over to the collection vehicles, the enforcement at the site is virtually non-existent. BMC authorities could not be reached for their comments on the matter.
Smoke hazard