Recurrent burning of dry waste degrades quality of air in Sus and Mhalunge

Pune: Garbage, dry waste or crop burning no longer remains an isolated issue, with the whole city increasingly forced to suffer from the toxic fallout of this illegal activity in recent years.However, some localities are particularly hit by such incessant burning, significantly downgrading air quality for their residents.Take for instance the impact of crops being burnt in areas like Sus as recently as Feb this year, to serve as a low-cost and shortcut way to prepare land for the next season."Crop burning was done by farmers themselves in Sus last month. They mostly burn leftover rice crop as they don't want to invest money to get rid of it the right way or donate it as fodder for cattle. It's not that villagers are unaware of these options. It's just faster and cheaper to burn crop instead," explained Suresh Sasar, a farmer here.According to Sasar, forest fires are another major concern in Sus. The forest department does not have fire lines here to help prevent the spread of flames by creating a gap in combustible material, which largely comprises of dry leaves. The recurrence gets worse in the summer season."Most of these fires are lit on purpose to get rid of wild grass. Since a lot of this land is private, there's not much authorities can do," he added.The effects are long-lasting. The smoke is so intense during crop burning that even for those living a few km away, the air quality is far from good."Breathing is extremely difficult these days. Local housing societies have come together on several occasions to complain to the gram panchayat, but in vain. The area has many hills around it, and fires are rampant on top of these, too," said Suhas Kalyani, a businessman and resident of the area.Next door in Mhalunge, the situation is similar. Residents said burning of trash at two nearby garbage depots and that of smaller piles in andaround Balewadi stadium is another daily source that is exacerbating pollution."Not only does rampant construction in the area add to our AQI woes, but workers at these sites tend to burn their waste," said Pavanjeet Mane, a resident of Mhalunge.The IT professional added, "There is a garbage depot around 2km from my society and the waste dumped there is set on fire almost every other day. The air is heavy and always smells foul. I have raised multiple complaints online for which Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has raised tickets and then closed them without any action on ground."