As the fire at the dumping ground in Dadumajra continued to smoulder on Thursday, the Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee sought a report from the municipal corporation detailing the reasons.
The letter to the MC commissioner came after an expert team from the CPCC was constituted and rushed to the spot for inspection.
Debendra Dalai, member secretary, CPCC, said: “The committee has asked the corporation to immediately submit a report detailing the reasons for the fire and also submit an accident report.”
In case of a fire at the dumping site, the MC is mandated to submit an accident report on its own to the pollution board, as per the Municipal Solid Waste Management Rules.
“After the last fire incident, the MC didn’t submit the report. This time, the CPCC has sought the report,” said Dalai.
According to MC officials, this is the fourth fire incident at the dumping site in the past one year, with two of these being major ones.
On the environmental and health impact of the fire, Dalai said: “Such a fire can have detrimental impact on the air quality with release of toxic gases. The poor air quality results in health issues for people.”
The committee in the letter to the MC has also directed it to take immediate steps so that such an incidents are not repeated in future, said Dalai.
{{/usCountry}}The committee in the letter to the MC has also directed it to take immediate steps so that such an incidents are not repeated in future, said Dalai.
{{/usCountry}}The fire has engulfed the site of legacy mining from where more than 5 lakh tonne of legacy waste is to be removed. The legacy mining project, worth ₹33 crore, started in December 2019, was to be completed in 18 months. So far, only around 30% of it has been completed.
MC commissioner KK Yadav said: “The project deadline was revised in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, the firm has been directed to complete it by December this year. So far 1.5 lakh tonne of legacy waste has been removed.”
Fire still simmering, residents complain of issues in breathing
As many as eight fire tenders along with earth-moving equipment have been pressed into service since the fire broke out on Wednesday afternoon. It is still simmering, and every few hours, huge flames can be seen erupting from some parts of the dump.
“The operation is still on. The fire had spread towards the processing plant but was brought under control,” said Anil Kumar Garg, chief fire officer.
Though the exact cause of the fire is unclear, the authorities pin suspicion on scrap dealers and rag pickers.
Garg said: “Methane gas produced in the garbage catches fire very easily. Ragpickers who move around in the area drop bidis and cigarettes that leads to fire.” Scrap dealers burn the plastic coating to extract wires, and that could have led to the fire, said another fire official.
Medical officer health Dr Amrit Warring said about 10 earth-moving vehicles have been pressed into service to put sand on the dump.
Meanwhile, people residing in nearby areas, including Dadumajra, Sector 25, Sector 38 West, Maloya and Dhanas, had a sleepless night. Many complained of problems in breathing and irritation in eyes.
Rohit Sharma, a resident of Sector 38 West, said: “The smell made it difficult to breath.” Satprakash, a shopkeeper in Sector 25, said: “The smoke brought down visibility. We are wearing masks, but they are ineffective in keeping away the smoke and smell.”
Dyal Krishan, president, Dadumajra Dumping Site Joint Action Committee, said, “In the past one year, many fires have broken out at the dump. An inquiry is needed into these repeated firing incidents so that corrective measures can be taken.”
Meanwhile, even as a thick blanket of smoke covered the area around the dumping ground, air quality index (AQI) at various observatories in the city didn’t show any unusual rise. Debendra Dalai attributed it to fast winds blowing in the city.
“While the values of PM 2.5 and PM 10 rose slightly on Thursday afternoon, the overall AQI remained unchanged around 120 at various CPCC observatories. The AQI had stayed below 100 about a week back; so there was only a marginal rise due to the fire,” he said.
The continuous ambient air quality monitoring station in Sector 25, situated close to the dumping ground, also didn’t show any spike in AQI on Thursday.