A month later, another fire breaks out at Adharwadi landfill in Kalyan

More than 10 fire tenders were rushed to the spot to control Thursday’s fire

A month after several fires were reported from Adharwadi dumping yard, another fire broke out at the landfill on Thursday. Unlike previous fires, which took four days to douse, Thursday’s fire was brought under control within hours.

Firefighters at Adharwadi landfill on Thursday. (Rishikesh Chaudhary/HT)

No causality was reported in the incident.The smoke emanated from the dumping yard remained in surrounding for an hour.

After the last month’s fires, authorities had assured of shutting the landfill. The incident also led to the ouster of former Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation chief.

More than 10 fire tenders were rushed to the spot to control the fire. It took fire officials more four hours to bring the fire under control.

At the time of copy going to print, firefighters were still at the site. A case has been registered at Khadakpada police
station.

Officials speak

Sudhakar Kulkarni , fire officer from Kalyan division, said, “The fire started around 3pm. We rushed to the spot and found that the fire was smaller in comparison to last month. The fire is under control. We’ll resume work tomorrow morning, as it is too late and dark.”

He added, “The nearby areas have been sprinkled with enough water to prevent the fire from spreading. A personnel will keep vigil through the night to give us updates.”

KDMC deputy commissioner Dhanaji Thoraskar said after the recent incidents of fire, the landfill was being continuously sprinkled with water. But the operations were stoped after the fire was brought under control.

“We have mechanism in place to control the fire,” he added.

Municipal commissioner Govind Bodke said KDMC has stationed two fire tenders at both sides of the dumping ground to carry out firefighting operations immediately.

“We managed to control the fire immediately. We could not water the dump yard continuously, as it releases dirty water into the creek. We had to
stop watering the dump,” he added.

Resident speak

Mahesh Bankar,28, a hotelier, who lives 100 metres from the dumping ground, said, “The corporation doesn’t seem to be in the mood to shut the landfill or clear the garbage. every few weeks, our area gets engulfed in thick smoke emanated from the landfill. We want a permanent solution, but neither officials nor politicians are promising
us anything. Promises made by the civic chief were hollow. the smoke has become a health hazard.”