KARIMNAGAR : The fire in the Karimnagar dumping yard continued for the second day, with fire tenders and the municipal corporation’s disaster team working to douse the flames and smoke. District Fire Officer T Venkanna on Thursday said that portable motors were attached to fire engines, and efforts to douse the flames using water from the nearby Manair river were ongoing.
CPM activists, led by town secretary Gudikandula Satyam, staged a protest at the dumping yard. They blamed Karimnagar Mayor Y Sunil Rao and municipal officials for not addressing the recurring issue, which has been choking Karimnagar city every year without any permanent solution. “What have you done with the funds allocated for Smart City? The dumping yard must be relocated from Karimnagar to another area,” they said.
Meanwhile, on the direction of Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar, Congress leaders led by TPCC secretary V Anjan Kumar visited the site and inspected the situation and the severity of the smoke. The minister promptly called upon the district collector and directed the MCK commissioner M Srinivas to take immediate action to prevent any untoward incident.
Prabhakar criticised local MLA Gangula Kamalakar, BRS MCK executive body, and the BJP MP for their inaction over the last 15 years. He accused both the BJP and the BRS of neglecting the welfare of the Karimnagar people.
According to MCK authorities, approximately 140 metric tons of garbage is collected daily from 60 divisions, accumulating into about 2.50 lakh metric tons of garbage, forming large mounds at the site.