E-Paper
Fire blazes for second day at Pune garbage unit; case registered
Firefighters need a poclane machine to completely douse the fire: official
PUNE: After a day of firefighting, fire brigade officials were able to partially douse the fire at the garbage processing unit in Ambegaon in the absence of equipment required to reach the inner part of the wall created by heaps of burning garbage.
“The fire is massive and we have sprayed water using almost 30-35 tankers till now. The wall of garbage that is visible is completely wet and doused and settled. The fire is still on behind it. To get to that, we need to pull down this wall of garbage, but the JCB that is available is not able to do the job. We need a poclane machine,” said Sanjay Ramteke, an official of the fire brigade’s Katraj division which is tasked with the operation.
Meanwhile, the police have registered a case against unidentified people who started the fire. A case under Sections 435, 427, 143, 147, and 149 of Indian Penal Code was registered at Bharti Vidyapeeth police station.
“We have registered a case. To determine the extent of damage, the fire needs to be doused. There is considerable damage,” said inspector (crime) Vishnu Tamhane of Bharti Vidyapeeth police station.
The smoke bellowing from the site of the plant covered the entire area and the residential buildings that are in close proximity. The fire was allegedly lit by angry villagers and residents who were attending a meeting with PMC officials and politicians.
“A PMC official told one of us that the villagers were charging towards the facility and were angry. So, we all left the plant and ran for our lives. One driver later told us what had happened. There were five CCTV cameras at the facility, each one of them was broken. Their feed is recorded in the office on-site which was also damaged,” said an official of the private company that built and manages the plant. He, however, insisted on remaining anonymous.
