Hundreds of residents staying close to Delhi government’s proposed waste to energy plant at the Okhla sanitary landfill site in South Delhi blocked the gates of proposed plant being set up by a private contractor.
The plant if built will burn garbage to produce 20 megawatts of power but residents and several environmentalists say that the plant will only create more pollution.
The proposed site is just meters away from homes and is also close to 2 hospitals and schools. Residents have given the government an ultimatum of 10 days after which they plan to block the highways.
"We will not allow the plant to come up here and even if we have to immolate ourselves or block the railway track we will do that," said a protestor.
If the plant goes through 500 trucks are expected to bring in 2000 tonnes of Delhi's garbage here daily.
According to Indresh Batra, MD of Jindal SAW, the plant is clean and there will be no smoke or smell.
But residents and some environmentalists are not convinced, as 6 months ago the government set up this manure plant and a medical incinerator plant just meters from hundreds of homes.
“The stink is unbearable. It is so bad that we shut our doors and sit inside. Our kids have also stopped coming saying that there is too much smell,” said another protestor.
Residents say that this is a taste of things to come as today they came out to block the plant but the next step they take will be to block the national highway nearby as part of their protests.