Fire at Uttan dump, officials blame locals

The blaze was reported around 7pm and two fire tenders and 10 water tankers were rushed to the spot by midnight

Three months after major fires at the Deonar dumping ground, a fire was reported at the Uttan dumping ground, 40km away from Mumbai, on Sunday night. Officials of the Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation (MBMC), which dumps around 400 metric tonnes of waste at the site daily, alleged local residents started the fire.

MBMC workers douse the fire at Uttan dump. (Pratham Gokhale/HT)

The blaze was reported around 7pm and two fire tenders and 10 water tankers were rushed to the spot by midnight. “The local residents want the dumping ground to be shut, so they entered the site illegally and set the waste on fire,” said Sambhaji Panpatte, deputy municipal commissioner, MBMC.

Panpatte said security around the dumping ground has now been beefed up. “As there is no compound wall, we have decided to install CCTV cameras to identify trespassers,” he said.

The dumping ground was opened in January 2008, as a replacement for the Gorai dumping ground that was shut in 2007. Residents of the five villages close to the dump site said the mound of garbage is at least 40-m high. “The wind carries the smoke towards Mira-Bhayander region. Residents have been complaining of breathing problems,” said Joseph Gonsalves, a resident of Uttan village. “Insects and the stench from the burning waste make the area a breeding ground for diseases.”

“While we are against the functioning of the dumping ground, we have been protesting peacefully since 2008. No local resident has ever set the waste on fire,” said Lourdes D’souza, secretary of the Dharavi Beth Bachao Samiti, a group representing residents of villages in the Manori-Gorai and Uttan belt. Dharavi is the local name of the area.

Stalin Dayanand, project director, NGO Vanashakti, said, “The builders are carrying out such activities to clear the area for development projects. Smoke from the dumping ground is carcinogenic. Despite repeated complaints, the authorities are turning a blind eye to it. This is the case at dumping grounds at Uttan, Ambernath and Lonavala.”