Adharwadi dumping ground fire doused after 22 hours

It took 22 hours for firemen to douse the fire which broke out at Adharwadi dumping ground on Saturday.

It took 22 hours for firemen to douse the fire which broke out at Adharwadi dumping ground on Saturday.

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“The fire was completely extinguished around 12 noon. Smoke is still billowing from on one side of the dump yard but the fire is under control. Nine fire tenders and 12 water tankers are carrying out the cooling operations,” said Dilip Gund, chief fire officer, Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC).

After the fire broke out at the Adharwadi dumping ground on Saturday afternoon, residents of nearby areas said they had been demanding closure of the dumping ground for many years but no action had been taken.

“Every year, the civic body promises to shut the dumping ground. We have been suffering for years. It becomes difficult for elders and children,” said Sneha Patil, 39, a resident of Adharwadi, Kalyan (West).

Every day, around 650 metric tonnes of waste is dumped at Adharwadi dumping ground without any segregation.

KDMC commissioner Vijay Suryavanshi had planned to stop dumping garbage at Adharwadi dumping ground by May 1.

The Alert Citizens’ Forum wrote to the civic body chief on May 6, asking it to speed up process of closing the dumping ground once the lockdown is over.

Ramdas Kokare, deputy municipal commissioner of KDMC, said, “We will start with asking residents to segregate garbage before handing over to sanitation workers.”