Thick smoke emanating from a dumping yard on the outskirts of Coimbatore created problems for the residents for nearly two hours today.

The garbage yard, some 13 kilometres from here, caught fire around 1.30 PM today and had spread to the garbage, dumped in acres of land. The thick smoke emanating from the yard moved to the nearby households, causing bouts of cough, breathlessness, and irritated nostrils to the residents in the area.

On information, the corporation commissioner, Dr. Vijay Karthikeyan visited the spot, along with senior officials. The fire was put out with 10 fire tenders. Although the fire was brought under control, the personnel were not able to do anything much about the smoke.