Surprisingly, the fire outbreak has occurred despite EDMC’s claims that it uses modern technology to minimise the amount of methane gas emanating from the untreated waste at the site.
Two back-to-back incidents at the Ghazipur landfill site - the landfill collapse that happened on September 1 and now recently the fire outbreak - have compelled people of the NCR to doubt the seriousness of the government authorities in finding an effective waste disposal solution in East Delhi.
After the landfill collapse, the authorities had inked several promises about managing daily waste. However, now it seems that these were mere words lacking in intent.
Chitra Mukherjee, an environmentalist who heads an NGO called Chintan, said, “These incidents are just a reiteration of the unpreparedness of the government authorities. MCD’s process of managing waste is sluggish. Waste management operations need to be radicalised.”
The fire outbreak comes at an especially bad time, as the city’s overall air quality has recently hit an abysmal low. According to a DPCC (Delhi Pollution Control Committee) report, north-westerly winds carrying pollutants from Punjab and Haryana have compounded the problem. And now the smoke billowing from the landfill site has made matters worse.
Areas such as Patparganj, Anand Vihar, Mayur Vihar and Kakardooma are particularly affected.
Surprisingly, the fire outbreak has occurred despite EDMC’s claims that is uses modern technology to minimise the amount of methane gas emanating from the years-old untreated waste lying at the Ghazipur landfill.
After September 1, dumping waste at the site was officially banned and EDMC asked to find an alternative place for dumping waste. However, it has not yet managed to find an alternative, continuing to dump about 25,000 tonnes of waste daily at the site.
