Inferno at Delhi’s Ghazipur landfill rages past midnight

Firefighting efforts continued till the time of going to press, but the police and fire department said there were no deaths or injuries due to the inferno, the cause for which was still to be ascertained.

A major blaze that broke out at the Ghazipur landfill in east Delhi on Monday afternoon continued to burn well into the evening, with residents of nearby areas like Patparganj, IP Extension and Ghaziabad complaining of breathing difficulties and burning eyes, wrought by the fumes, which travelled metres into the sky.

Firefighters spray water to distinguish the fire and to clear the smoke at Ghazipur garbage landfill in New Delhi on Monday. (Raj K Raj/HT Photo)

Firefighting efforts continued till the time of going to press, but the police and fire department said there were no deaths or injuries due to the inferno, the cause for which was still to be ascertained.

The East Delhi mayor, however, said the rise in temperature was to blame for the fire.

The Delhi government ordered the state pollution control body to probe the fire, the first at the Ghazipur landfill this year. The spot saw four fires last year, data from the Delhi Fire Services showed.

Nearly 40 fire fighters, along with nine fire tenders reached the landfill after the fire control room received a call about the blaze minutes after 2.30pm. The blaze started at the back of the landfill, officials said.

Delhi Police officers said the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) brought in more earth movers in the evening to help firefighters at the site.

Fire officers said the operation was tricky for several reasons, prolonging efforts past midnight.

“It is difficult to reach the affected area at night. We do not know if the mountain road that leads to the fire site is stable or not. So, we cannot climb to any place on the hill. Our fire tenders are working from a distance. The fire broke out on a hill. The water our fire personnel are throwing is flowing down the hill,” said a fire officer at the spot.

“Our fighters are trying to douse the flames and prevent them from spreading further,” said Delhi Fire Services (DFS) chief Atul Garg, adding that the cause of fire was being ascertained.

“The operation is also taking time because of poor light after sunset. The fire has spread across the back of the garbage mountain. It looks like the fire may have engulfed at least 200m of the landfill,” a police officer at the spot said.

Police said traffic on the Delhi - Meerut Expressway has not been affected because the fire spot is at least 500 m from the road and at the back of the landfill. “We will speak to the security guards while probing the cause of the fire. The civic agency has deployed private guards at the landfill. We will register a case and probe it,” said a senior police officer.

The 70-acre Ghazipur landfill is the tallest in India, at 50 metres high, according to recent estimates. Experts have repeatedly called to flatten the waste mountain, citing environmental, health and structural risks. A section of the waste mound collapsed in September 2017, claiming the lives of two persons travelling on the road adjacent to it.

Residents of east Delhi, even those who lived kilometres away, bore the brunt of the fire since afternoon, and said administrative apathy was to blame for the annual blazes at the site.

“I was at home when my eyes started itching and I had trouble breathing. My family members complained about similar problems. We came out of our homes and found the sky draped in a blanket of smoke. Residents then told us that it was because of a fire at the Ghazipur landfill. It’s the same old story every year. Agencies do nothing about this persistent problem. The smoke is even worse for elderly people, children, or those with other ailments,” said a resident of IP Extension who asked not to be named.

Mohammad Ismail, a resident of Ghazipur, said political inaction was to blame for the landfill mess.

“Governments come and go but nobody has been addressing the issues we residents face because of the landfill. Whether we live or die, it hardly matters to any of them... The dumping yard stinks badly, especially at night,” said Ismail.

The fire also triggered political finger-pointing, with the issue being discussed during a Delhi assembly session. Meanwhile, state environment minister Gopal Rai directed the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) to submit a report on the incident within 24 hours.

Atishi, the AAP’s MLA from Kalkaji tweeted, “Now that MCD has been brought directly under the Central Govt, maybe PM @narendramodi and Home Minister @AmitShah will care to tell us how they plan to deal with the crisis of the Ghazipur garbage mountain!”

EDMC mayor Shyam Sunder Aggarwal said the fire was caused due to a rise in temperatures and methane generated by the decomposing waste. “At this time of the year, the methane generation in decomposing waste increases with the rise in temperature. The landfill also receives a large amount of leaves and dry waste, which add to the risk,” he said.

He denied that the fire may have been triggered by human error.