Team Herald
PONDA: Locals in various panchayats across Ponda are demanding action from the government following a massive fire at the RK Scrapyard in Dhavali, located by the side of the National Highway. The fire caused losses of around Rs five crore in property damage and took two days to bring under control.
The fire also forced the closure of the Dhavali-Farmagudi Highway and diverted traffic for almost two days, causing tremendous hardship to commuters. Despite past horrific incidents, including a godown gutted in a massive fire causing loss to the tune of Rs one crore last year, scrapyards continue to operate in residential areas.
There are currently four operational scrapyards in Bethora panchayat and two in Kavlem panchayat. Locals demand that these scrapyards should be shifted to Industrial Estates to
avoid posing a risk to residents, petrol pumps, and other sensitive areas.
The issue of illegal scrapyards also dominates every gram sabha, with members demanding that the local
authorities shut down illegal scrapyards that are not paying taxes to the panchayat.
However, landowners who rent their land to scrapyards are earning lakhs every year, causing concerns among locals about antisocial activities.
According to the people of Kavlem, this is the second major fire incident alongside the National Highway, and it is time for the government to learn a lesson from it.
Bethora panchayat also has five scrapyards located by the side of the Borim-Bethora NH, and the closure of any of
them due to a fire incident would force authorities to divert traffic to other roads.
With the constant threat of fires and their potential for loss of human life and property, it is time for the government to take action and shift scrapyards to safer locations, said environmentalist Sandeep Parkar.
