Gurugram residents ask for prohibition on open waste burning

GURUGRAM:  With pollution levels ascending recently in the National Capital Region, residents of Gurugram have called for a strict prohibition on open waste burning to prevent air quality from getting worse, especially considering the pandemic situation. Volunteers of Citizens for Clean Air (CCA), an organisation which works for the improvement of air quality, and nearby residents have been detecting and reporting open burning in dumping sites in addition to small spots in the neighbourhood. They are also actively seeking their respective administration and councillors to prohibit this unhealthy practice.

Ruchika Sethi, a member of CCA, asked the administration and the government to focus attention on public health and put an end to waste burning. She added that if the government imposes strict measures like they did during the COVID-19 pandemic, a dangerous practice like waste burning can be put to an end. CCA, in a tweet, said that filing first information reports (FIRs) and challans is not a solution, given that waste burning is a prevalent practice. A scientifically distributed solid waste management mechanism is needed to successfully deal with the menace.