PONDA
The scrapyard and some vehicles were gutted in a major fire at Dhavali on Friday afternoon, with the flames also spreading to a nearby hill.
Such was the fire that traffic was disrupted along the Ponda-Margao route and had to be diverted via Bethora.
Officials from Ponda taluka including the deputy collector, mamlatdar and police officials rushed to the site to take stock of the situation.
A fire tender from the Ponda fire station was first sent to the site, but as the flames intensified, fire tenders from other fire stations were also dispatched to the scrapyard.
Director of Fire and Emergency Services Nitin Raiker and other fire officials were also at the site to supervise firefighting operations.
The scrapyard is reported to have had chemicals in cans and tins, which caught fire, while a tempo was also gutted into the fire. It is believed that more vehicles were also destroyed in the fire.
“Locals have been demanding the closure of these scrapyards for the past 15 years, and the panchayat had also ordered action again the scrapyards,” said Kavalem Sarpanch Manuja Naik, who along with other panch members also rushed to the spot. Power Minister Sudin Dhavalikar later visited the site and assured that the scrapyards would be shut down in the next eight days.
“Efforts to shut down the scrapyards have been going on for many years, but now this fire has showed how lives are in danger, and it is necessary to take measures for the safety of public living in the vicinity,” said Dhavalikar.
