BHUBANESWAR: Panic gripped Nandan Vihar locality in the city after fire engulfed a dumping yard, managed by Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), on Monday evening.
Sources said a site in the locality used by the civic body as a dump yard to dispose of green garbage as well as construction and demolition (C&D) waste caught fire in the evening. Till last reports came in, two fire tenders, that reached the spot at around 8 pm, are struggling to douse the flames. A fire service official, however, said fire teams immediately rushed to the spot and prevented it from spreading further. “The situation so far is under control and the teams are expected to contain it soon,” he said.
BMC officials said green garbage including shrubs and leaves collected from different parts of the city were being dumped at the site, spread over two acre land. “The cause of the fire is yet to be known,” said civic body officials. Locals, on the other hand were irked over the incident. Members of Nandan Vihar Bikash Parishad, said it is perhaps the third time the dumping yard has caught fire in the last three months. One of the officer bearers of the Parishad said locals had even opposed dumping yard at the site in view of the residential areas in its surroundings. “We also had a few rounds of meeting with the then BMC commissioner and other officials. However, the civic body stuck to its decision assuring that filling up of the void space will pave way for development in the area,” said one of the Parishad members.
With temperature gradually rising, the Parishad members sought immediate administrative intervention to shift the dumping yard from the locality.