Garbage Dumping Yard Poses Health Hazards In Odisha’s Puri; Resentment Brews Among Locals

Puri: Heaps of garbage have turned into a major polluter in Baliapanda area in Odisha’s Puri town. Residents of the area have expressed their resentment over the health hazards they are facing due to the huge dumping yard.

An eight-acre area has been used as a dumping ground for several solid waste materials over the last 15 to 20 years. Initially a plant was set up there to produce bio-fertilisers from the waste materials, but it has been lying defunct for last more than 10 years. Sources said.

Dumping waste materials at the site should have stopped in 2019, but it has never been implemented on ground. As a result, the foul smell of the decomposing waste material becomes unbearable for the local residents, while the smoke emanating in case of a fire poses a serious health hazard.

Locals complained that the garbage is causing air pollution and a major reason for the spread of disease. People face problems in breathing during rainy season. The problem gets compounded when miscreants set fire in the waste dump, they said.

The tourism industry could be affected by this filthy environment created from dump yard, they said.

It was suggested by the local residents that the organic fertiliser plant should be made functional as soon as possible. State Pollution Control Board and the district administration are planning to shift this dump yard to another place, but no action has been taken yet.