New Delhi, June 2 (IANS) The Indian Army has begun a major operation to dispose of 3,500 live bombs that were found in metal scrap imported from global war zones and dumped in south Delhi's Tughlakabad container depot since 2004, an official said Thursday.

 
 The operation, which began May 11 at Tilpat range in Faridabad just outside of the capital in Haryana, aims to explode these live munitions ranging from artillery shells and rockets to hand grenades, totally weighing over 500 kg.
 
 Being carried out with help from Delhi and Haryana police, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Fire Services and Health authorities, the exercise code-named Sahayog-II will go on till the end of June, according to the army's Western Command chief engineer Major General Manik Sabherwal.
 
 The munitions were traced out of metal scraps from various sea ports and airports by the Customs since 2004 and dumped at three sites in the container depot here for proper disposal after obtaining clearances.
 
 The scraps were imported by Indian metal dealers from war zones like Afghanistan, Iraq and African nations.
 
 Following a blast at Bhushan Steel, a private steel firm in Ghaziabad, resulting in death of nearly a dozen workers while they were melting the scrap at the furnace, the government had ordered a major checks at all ports for unexploded munitions from imported scraps.
 
 Operation Sahayog-I was carried in 2004-05 by the army to destroy 350-odd unexploded munitions from the steel firm.
 
 The army has prepared two pits at Tilpat range for holding the munitions segregated and transported from the Tughlakabad depot, which is 18 km away from the firing range.
 
 It has also dug five pits for blasting the munitions and destroying them, but these are about a kilometre away from residential areas to ensure safety of civilians, Colonel Vivek Davar from the army's bomb disposal unit said.
 
 Since May 11, the bomb disposal squad has destroyed about 2,700 pieces of unexploded munitions and another 700 of them are left at the Tughlakabad depot, he said.
 
 "We are disposing about 100 to 200 pieces of munition every day since May 11," he added.