Portion of Bhalswa landfill collapses, none hurt

No casualties or injuries were reported, but some huts and property including private vehicles were inundated with landfill waste, locals said.

A portion of the Bhalswa landfill in northwest Delhi collapsed early Monday morning, damaging nearly eight hutments, police officers said. No casualties or injuries were reported, but some huts and property including private vehicles were inundated with landfill waste, locals said.

Residents of the hutments said a portion of the landfill collapsed on the huts around 7am, when most people were out for work or household chores. (HT Photo)

Residents of the hutments said a portion of the landfill collapsed on the huts around 7am, when most people were out for work or household chores. Some children inside the huts were pulled out on time, said residents.

“Local people helped each other but teams from the municipality and government reached here only by afternoon. Till this time, residents could not even eat anything because their houses were covered in landfill waste,” said Shankar, a resident of the area.

Residents of the area also alleged that this is not the first time that such an incident has happened in the area. In August last year, a portion of the landscape collapsed, damaging three hutments on the northwest side of the landfill.

The Bhalswa landfill site is an open dumping ground near GT-Karnal road. Created in 1984, it is spread over 70 acres. Till October 2019, the landfill hit a height of 65 metres, just eight metres less than the Qutub Minar.

It reached its saturation point in 2006 but the landfill still receives about 2,100 metric tonnes of mixed waste every day. More than eight million metric tonnes of legacy waste (old solid waste material) are dumped here.

They also alleged that mindless waste dumping and construction has also resulted in the shrinking of access to these residential areas, because of which emergency services such as fire tenders and ambulances are also unable to reach here for the rescue.

A senior North Delhi Municipal Corporation official said earth-moving machines were deployed in the area since afternoon and municipal teams were helping clear out the collapsed section of the landfill from the affected shanties.

“The issue is that during monsoon season, especially after heavy rains, waste from the landfill tends to slip off,” the official said.