Smoke billowing out of mounds of garbage at Hosayallapur in Dharwad continues to engulf choking several localities.

Upset over the continuing problems caused by the smoke for the third day in a row, residents of the localities around the dumping yard stopped garbage-carrying vehicles from entering the site on Wednesday in protest against the apathy of the officials.

The fire believed to have been triggered by a chemical reaction in the mounds of garbage continues to burn causing smoke and the municipal authorities are still exploring possible solutions to douse it. Naturally the residents are irked and worried that failure to douse the fire may worsen the situation.

On Monday and Tuesday, the residents staged roadblocks near the dumping yard and on Wednesday, they stopped garbage-laden vehicles resulting in around 50 vehicles being stuck on Hosayallapur Road.

Consequently, door-to-door garbage collection in Dharwad has been affected forcing residents to dump domestic waste on vacant land and along the roadside.