Mohali, Aug. 18 -- The municipal corporation's waste management plans hit a roadblock on Sunday, as residents of Sectors 74 and 91 stopped JCB machines engaged in construction work at the proposed waste processing plant near the Sector 90-Chappar Chiri road. The machines had reached the site to start construction of the plant on the 13 acres possessed by the civic body. However, residents blocked the work. Shouting slogans, the protesters declared they would not allow a "mountain of garbage" to rise in their neighbourhood, citing foul odour, mosquito breeding and health hazards that would make life miserable for residents, especially children and the elderly. Some residents said they had met MLA Kulwant Singh on Saturday regarding the issue. But Singh categorically told them the plant will come up at the same site, which further inflamed public anger. "Today, work was initiated with a JCB machine, but residents of Sectors 74 and 91 reached the spot and stopped it. We have already won a case in the Punjab and Haryana high court directing that dumping at this site must stop by September, yet the corporation and the MLA are ignoring the order," claimed Baldev Raj, president of the Sector 74 RWA. Other residents, including Ramdeep Kaur, Babita Hundal, Vikram Kamboj and Aman Slatch, joined in, saying they would not allow their area to be blotched by garbage, filth and stench. MC commissioner Parminder Pal Singh Sandhu maintained that the Chappar Chiri land belonged to the corporation and assured that the plant will come up with "latest technology". "We will pacify the residents as there is some miscommunication," he said. Housing a population of 2.3 lakh, Mohali is gripped by a growing waste crisis in the absence of a permanent mechanism for processing the 150 tonnes of garbage generated daily. Heaps of stinking waste remain scattered across neighbourhoods, drawing flies and stray animals, much to residents' dismay. After years of delay, two waste management facilities have been set up at Shahimajra (capacity 40 tonnes) and Jagatpura (capacity 80 tonnes). But despite sheds and machinery in place, both plants remain non-functional. The mounting crisis has also hurt Mohali's standing in national cleanliness rankings. In the latest Swachh Survekshan results announced on July 17, the city slipped to 128th place among 903 cities (with populations between 50,000 and 3 lakh), down from 82nd last year. Within Punjab, it fell to 11th among 35 cities, a sharp drop from the first-place rank it held just a year ago among cities with populations over 1 lakh....