COIMBATORE: Residents of several localities were left gasping for breath on Monday after a major fire broke out in the Resource Recovery Park, where garbage generated by the Kotagiri Town Panchayat is processed. It took more than four hours for the fire and rescue personnel to douse the raging fire. Over four tonnes of garbage generated in 21 wards of Kotagiri Town Panchayat has been taken to the park spread over an area of 4.5 acres to be processed entirely.

On noticing fire, the town panchayat staff alerted the fire and rescue personnel. Heavy winds, however, deterred their efforts in dousing the fire. After a long struggle, the fire was brought under control. However, the thick smoke that billowed out of the dumpyard left residents in areas such as Kannika Devi Colony and Krishna Pudur gasping for breath. Staff involved in various activities at the garbage segregation unit stopped work briefly and resumed after the situation turned normal.