Stink from compost plant making kids ill: Residents

Noida: More than 15 children at a condominium, La Residentia, in Noida Extension have fallen ill over the last month after inhaling the foul smell emanating from a waste compost plant installed in the basement of the tower number 14 of the complex. Residents say the upkeep of the plant, installed in January, is not up to the mark and people living in the ground floor flats, especially in the towers 13, 14 & 15 that are nearest to it, have not been able to open their doors for nearly a month due to the acerbic smell.

Sumit Baisoya

, a resident of the housing society, said his 14-year-old son had complained of headache and vomiting soon after returning home Wednesday. “When he returned home from school, a pungent smell, released by the compost machine, had filled the basement lobby and the lift too. Soon after inhaling it, my son started complaining of a headache. About half an hour later he started vomiting too,” Saisoya said, adding that the problem started about 23 days back.“The plant was installed in January but started working from the first week of March. After we submitted a complaint with the Greater Noida Authority, a health department team visited our society and also told the builder that he has installed the machine without exhaust and duct. The builder had sought one week then, which has lapsed long back,” Baisoya told TOI.

Lokesh Bisht

, another resident, said, “We are living in a hellish situation. Last night, my eight-year-old child, too, complained of a headache and vomited several times.”

Shivyang Sharma

(65), who is an asthma patient, said he had to be hospitalized a few days back after his breathing problem was aggravated after inhaling the foul smell.On Thursday, Salil Yadav, GNIDA’s senior manager (health department), said a Rs 4 lakh penalty has been imposed on the builder for failing to adhere to the norms. “If the builder fails to pay the penalty in the stipulated time, then take further action will be taken by sending a recovery certificate to the DM,” the official said. When approached, LA Residentia Developers Private Limited director Kulbhushan Rai Bajaj, said, “We bought this compost plant last year, but residents didn’t allow us to install it. This year, they suggested we should install it in the basement. We are working to resolve the issue of stench.”
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