Bhubaneswar, June 6: Daruthenga on the outskirts of the city witnessed tension today after a scuffle between villagers and police over the relocation of the Bhuasuni dumping yard.

Hundreds of villagers took part in a meeting attended by representatives of the Congress and the BJP and later, took out a rally to the dumping yard in Daruthenga.

The police deployed at the spot tried to prevent them from entering the dumping yard. This led to a scuffle between the protesters and the police. However, no one was injured.

The villagers want the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation's dumping yard to be moved to Tulasisdeipur, which is about 2km away from Bhuasuni in Daruthenga.

They villagers are also protesting against the civic body's decision to set up a waste-to-energy plant there.

"The civic body has turned a deaf ear to our plea. Instead, it has started the process to set up a power plant at the site. We have been demanding relocation of the dumping yard for the past eight years as it has been causing health problems even for domestic animals," said Daruthenga sarpanch Prashant Kumar Routray.

Earlier, the aggrieved villagers had written to the chief minister's office and the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) seeking intervention. The PMO last week sought a report from the chief secretary and the housing and urban development department over air and water pollution in the locality. In turn, the department has asked the BMC commissioner to submit a report by Tuesday.

"A number of villagers have fallen ill because of garbage stench. The dump yard has also led to water contamination in this area. Infants and senior citizens are the worst sufferers," said Binod Sahu, a villager.

The villagers have been protesting since early this year. They had even locked the gates of the dumping yard to prevent vehicles from dumping garbage. The agitation had forced the civic body and district administration officials to hold a meeting with the villagers in March.

Senior Congress leader Suresh Kumar Routray, who joined the protesters, demanded that the state government relocate the dumping yard at the earliest.

Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena requested the villagers to cooperate with the civic body. "The waste-to-energy plant is a good initiative and the villagers should lend their support to the project," said Jena.