Organic waste goes up in flames, leaves Ludhiana breathless

Ludhiana: With a shift in the weather, heaps of organic waste are visible in parks, streets, and other public places, and the civic body officials are unable to do anything about the waste. However, residents claimed it was an eyesore and said that employees simply burn the dry leaves after sweeping instead of disposing of them properly.The civic body officials, however, said they are going to solve this problem with the installation of a horticulture plant. In Sarabha Nagar, Leisure Valley, heaps of dry leaves and organic waste are lying in huge quantities, and people feared that a small spark could cause a fire there.A resident from Civil City, Manoj Gupta, said the burning of leaves can be seen alongside roads where there are large numbers of trees, and the leaves are burnt in small heaps. At some places, even MC employees are in the habit of burning these dry leaves so that they do not need to lift them, he said. A resident of Sant Nagar, Diksha Sharma, said there should be proper disposal of these leaves instead of just burning them. He said that in many cities, special machines are installed for the disposal of dry leaves, and the MC should bring them to the city. He said burning leaves generates harmful gases that can lead to health hazards and might cause serious repercussions for people who suffer from cardiovascular disease and asthma. Leaf burning also increases air pollution, reduces visibility, and damages property, he added.Meanwhile, a senior official from the horticulture branch of the MC said leaves are falling from trees around parks and in residential areas as well, but they deputed staff to clear the same. He said they requested sanitation staff as well as residents not to burn the dry leaves in this manner. Notably, with the change in weather, dry leaves and other organic waste can be seen lying on roads, parks, etc, and most of the time people burn those leaves, which creates pollution. According to the NGT guidelines, burning any type of waste is punishable, and a fine from Rs 5,000 to a maximum of Rs 25,000 can be imposed on the person. In the past two months, activists made many such complaints that people burn dry leaves as well as solid waste, causing air pollution.