Strong smell from the burning rubbish dump at Vunato Settlement, Lautoka has raised concerns with residents.

The residents are now pleading with the relevant authorities to address the situation.

Resident, Mereoni Rokolutu, said they did not know who was burning the rubbish.

Her home is the first house near the rubbish dump.

“We were having dinner last night and saw the fire then we saw one fire truck rushing to the site but we never saw them put the fire out, after a short while they drove past our house to leave but the dump was still burning,” she said.

“If they put out the fire, we wouldn’t be smelling the strong stench this morning and what’s worse is, this is the third time this year it’s getting burned and it’s irritating us.”

She said the smell could linger for a week if the fire was not attended to immediately.

National Fire Authority chief fire officer Qionilau Moceitai said he had not received any report so far on the incident.

Calls made to the Lautoka City Council chief executive officer, Mohammed Aness Khan, remained unanswered. However, Lautoka and Ba Board of special administrators Chair, Debra Sadranu, said she was recently made aware of the incident.

“We will make this part of our agenda in our next council meeting on how we can move forward with managing the rubbish dump to consider the impact,” she said.

Edited by Selita Bolanavanua

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