Shakti Khand dump fire results in smoke screen

The residents said that the fire had been raging for hours and the fire department personnel could only douse it on Saturday afternoon after they contacted the officials of the Ghaziabad development authority (GDA).

A massive fire broke out at the solid waste dumping site at Shakti Khand in Indirapuram on Friday night.

A massive fire broke out at the solid waste dumping site at Shakti Khand in Indirapuram on Friday night. (Sakib Ali / Hindustan Times)

The residents said that the fire had been raging for hours and the fire department personnel could only douse it on Saturday afternoon after they contacted the officials of the Ghaziabad development authority (GDA).

Members of the Confederation of Trans-hindon RWA (resident welfare association) had earlier moved the National Green Tribunal (NGT) after several fires had occurred at the site, which belongs to the GDA.

The tribunal in its latest order on May 28 had directed the Ghaziabad municipal corporation (which also dumps garbage at the site) to furnish ₹25 lakh performance guarantee as it found that the authority did not take steps were taken to comply with Municipal Solid Waste (Management & Handling) Rules, 2016.

“The fire started Friday night and we informed the GDA officials early morning. Thereafter, fire personnel were roped in to douse the fire. The smoke was persistent until Saturday afternoon. The site has a boundary wall but sometimes ragpickers enter through the gates. They might have stubbed some cigarettes which could have resulted in the fire. Due to high temperature, the solid waste is already very dry and can catch fire easily,” Mohan Sangwan, general secretary of the Confederation said.

“We have clicked pictures and videos of the fire and will produce these before the tribunal. We will seek levying penalty over the authorities. The site has become a nuisance for local residents due to smoke from fires and the prevailing unhygienic conditions,” he added.

In October 2017 residents of Indirapuram had taken out a protest march at the solid waste site and the Confederation later moved a petition against the dumping of garbage at the site from where various cases of fire had been reported.

The officials of the authority said that they will instruct the guards at the site to keep a strict check on any entry of ragpickers in the area.

“We will keep a check on such instances. Ragpickers often enter the site and any stray cigarette thrown over the dump can result in fire. We will instruct the guards to keep a strict watch. The area already has been covered with a boundary wall and the site is manned by guards,” VN Singh, chief engineer of the authority said.

The solid waste from the site is proposed to be shifted to a waste to energy site at Galand. The GDA has identified about five acres of land at Galand where the solid waste from Indirapuram locality will be transferred.

According to GDA officials they have given possession of 18 acres out of 35 acres of land to the corporation while the rest of the land will be handed over soon. They added that forest clearance for the connecting road to the site at Galand is also required and it will also be widened to allow movement of vehicles carrying solid waste.

The biggest dumping site at Pratap Vihar was shut down in January on directions of the Uttar Pradesh solid waste monitoring committee which is formed on directions of the tribunal.

“The Shakti Khand site is used by GDA. We are not dumping any solid waste at Indirapuram from any of our colonies. We have taken land at several places and the wet waste is being dumped there,” an officer at the municipal corporation said.

In May, the solid waste monitoring committee had directed the corporation to chalk out a plan within three months for the disposal of 1000 metric tonnes of daily solid waste.

The Ghaziabad city produces about 850 metric tonnes of daily solid waste but lacks a site for its proper disposal and scientific processing as per the 2016 Rules.