PUNE: While the Hinjawadi area has been facing the hazards of garbage burning for over a year now, for more than two months, the residents of Baner, Balewadi, Pashan and Sus Road have been complaining of the constant burning of garbage in their area. 

While the residents have complained about the issue several times on the Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC’s) grievance app, their efforts have been futile. 

On the contrary, PMC Joint Commissioner and Solid Waste Management Department Head Dnyaneshwar Molak said that he has received no complaints in this regard. 

Constant burning since December 
“It has been over two months that we see garbage burning on the sides of the road every other day. It’s mostly on the service roads of the National Highway 4 (Mumbai-Bengaluru Highway), we also see it on other roads in Baner, Balewadi, Pashan and Sus Road areas,” Pashan-Sus Road resident Pushkar Kulkarni told Sakal Times. 

“People usually dump garbage at night and set fire to it. The slum residents in the area have not been provided with any kind of waste management mechanism. As a result they end up burning everything, right from scrap material like metals, oils, to mattresses, plastic waste and other domestic waste. While authorities do not respond to our complaints anyway, if at all they come, they always say that they are not able to find who set these fires,” he further said.
 
PMC promises action 
While Molak said that he has not yet come across the complaint, while speaking to Sakal Times, he said that he will look into the matter.
 
“I have not received any complaints until now. But now that it has come to my notice, I will look into the problem and try to resolve it,” he said.