Moshi, Chikhli, Dudulgaon residents to protest at Moshi garbage depot gate on November 5

Residents of villages around the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) garbage depot at Moshi are preparing to take to the streets. People from Moshi, Chikhli and Dudulgaon have announced a large protest at the depot's main gate on November 5.

Their demand is clear: either the depot be shut immediately, or the city's waste be disposed of at different locations through the corporation's regional offices.

The decision was taken at a meeting on Thursday, October 29, at the Shri Nageshwar Maharaj temple in Moshi. Villagers and members of housing societies attended. Those present said they were worried about the effect of the landfill on health and the environment.

Residents allege that the entire city's garbage is being dumped in Moshi. They say this is holding back the area's development and damaging its image. They say methane gas from the depot has increased cases of breathing and skin problems, and that the stench now spreads over a radius of about five kilometres.

They also claimed that harmful liquid waste from the depot is being released directly into the Indrayani river. This, they said, is worsening water pollution and affecting animals in the area.

They also said the growing heaps of garbage, the pollution and the smell have reduced the interest of home buyers and hurt the construction business. In their view, this is slowing the area's economic progress and the pace of infrastructure work.

Thousands of residents, traders and members of local organisations from the three areas are expected to join the November 5 protest. Residents are confident the protest will put pressure on the administration and that their grievances will be heard.