Vellalore fire yet to be contained, another blaze breaks out in Pollachi dump yard

The fire that broke out around noon on Friday continues to rage in the dump yard spread over 16.68 acres. Over 60 tonnes of garbage collected from 36 wards in Pollachi are dumped in the yard, located at Jameen Uthukuli Town Panchayat.

More than 20 Fire Service personnel were involved in dousing it by engaging several fire tenders and private water tanker lorries. However, they face difficulty in entering interior areas of the garbage mound to douse the raging fire.  

More than 300 families residing in the surrounding areas complained of severe smoke, alleging that such frequent fire outbreaks have led to many residents suffering from respiratory illness. They urged the government to enhance vigil by fixing CCTVs and deploy security personnel to prevent miscreants from triggering fire.

Farmers from the area are also concerned, worried that the heat and smile from the burning yard might affect their vegetable crops and coconut trees. 

Though a private firm has been entrusted with segregating garbage and make manure out of the organic waste, the works were stopped after a fire destroyed machineries used to process and produce manure from waste a year ago. 

Municipality officials said an investigation was underway to know if it was a manmade fire. 

“The private firm has stopped segregating and manufacturing organic manure, as they faced loss and after their machineries got gutted. Now talks are underway to resume works,” said an official. 

Meanwhile, nearly a week after the massive fire broke out in Vellalore dump yard, the Fire Service personnel are still toiling to douse the fire completely. “The fire is put out, but still smoke continues to emanate from heaps of garbage,” said an official.