MCD dumps 600T of waste, debris at Ghazipur to douse fire but smoke persists

Plumes of smoke continued to emanate from the site, though fire department officials confirmed that the blaze had doused, and cooling operations were underway

Two days after a fire broke out at the Ghazipur landfill site in east Delhi, officials on Tuesday said that the blaze had been extinguished after the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) dumped around 600 tonnes of debris and construction and demolition (C&D) waste over flames at the garbage mound since the fire was first reported.

The fire at the Ghazipur landfill site was contained by Tuesday morning. (Raj K Raj/HT Photo)

Plumes of smoke continued to emanate from the site, though fire department officials confirmed that the blaze had doused, and cooling operations were underway. “We have adopted a two-pronged approach to extinguish the fire — the use of inert and C&D waste to choke the fire, and pressing fire tenders to douse the flames,” an official involved in firefighting operations said, on condition of anonymity.

“In addition, water sprinklers are also continually working to ensure that no dust or ash spread in the neighborhood,” the official said.

The Ghazipur landfill — the country’s largest garbage dumpsite, which holds at least 8.4 million tonnes of waste — caught fire on Sunday evening, enveloping surrounding areas in east Delhi with a thick cloud of smoke. This was the first fire at the landfill site in 10 months — and the first fire at a landfill this year.

Officials said that the flames and the first layer of soot were spotted around 5pm drifting towards the middle of the landfill facing the Ghazipur paper market and drain.

After the fire was reported, different agencies deployed 16 excavators, two bulldozers and six fire tenders into service to control the flames, and by Monday evening, officials said that most of the fire had been contained.

By Monday night, the fire reignited over a 3,000 sqm area due to gusty winds, with around 40-50 small isolated flames. This, however, was brought under control by Tuesday.

“We ensured that the fire did not spread beyond this area and have now controlled it,” the official quoted above said.

Separately, the Delhi Police on Monday filed a first information report (FIR) into the fire against unidentified persons, saying that they will investigate its cause, the impact of smoke on people living in the area, and whether there was any foul play behind the incident.

Fires at landfills are a common occurrence between April and June, and between October and November, as decomposing wet waste leads to the generation of inflammable methane gas.

The last landfill fire in Delhi was reported on June 12, 2023 at Ghazipur.

An ongoing process to flatten Delhi’s three landfills is progressing slowest at Ghazipur, according to a progress report submitted by MCD to the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) in February this year. The three sites currently hold 17.283 million tonnes of waste (this includes fresh waste dumped on the site) of which Ghazipur holds the maximum (8.40 million tonnes), with MCD clearing only 2.25 million tonnes since trommels were deployed in 2019.