Adharwadi dumping ground in Kalyan catches fire; brought under control

Adharwadi dumping ground in Kalyan caught fire on Thursday evening leading to thick smoke covering the nearby areas; a total of five fire tenders from the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) fire department rushed to the spot and initiated fire-fighting operations

The Adharwadi dumping ground in Kalyan caught fire on Thursday evening leading to thick smoke covering the nearby areas.

A fire fighter bringing the fire under control after Adharwadi dumping ground in Kalyan caught fire on Thursday. (HT PHOTO)

A total of five fire tenders from the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) fire department rushed to the spot and initiated fire-fighting operations.

“It was a major fire as the blaze kept spreading across the dump yard. The entire premises were covered with thick smoke. The fire was under control in an hour. However, the cooling process will continue till late evening,” said Namdeo Chaudhari, chief of fire department, KDMC.

Earlier, on March 12, the dumping ground caught fire, following which the KDMC solid waste department deputy commissioner, Ramdas Kokare, had blamed the ragpickers for the blaze and asked the local police to investigate the matter.

With the latest fire incident, the activists from the city have raised concerns over the civic body’s claim about no dumping of wet waste at the dumping ground.

“The civic body has claimed that it has stopped dumping of wet waste at the dump yard. If that is the case, then how come it catches fire? The fire is caught due to the methane gas generated from wet waste. The civic body has made false claims about the dump yard being free of wet waste,” said Sreeniwas Ghanekar, founder of Alert Citizens Forum, Kalyan.

“We have completely stopped dumping at the dump yard. Whatever the fire incidents are happening at the dump yard, we have asked the police to investigate the matter as we suspect some persons from the dump yard itself. The fire is under control and the fire department will keep an eye on the dump yard,” said Ramdas Kokare, deputy commissioner, KDMC.