Garbage Dumping Banned in Ghazipur After Landfill Collapse Kills 2

A car being pulled out of a canal as the rescue operations are underway after a part of the Ghazipur garbage landfill collapsed in east Delhi.

(Photo: PTI)

A day after a garbage dump caved in at Ghazipur landfill site near Delhi, a total ban on dumping was imposed. Two people were killed in the landfill collapse on Friday, and at least four vehicles were pushed into the nearby Kondli canal.

“Two persons, 32-year-old Raj Kumari and 22-year-old Abhishek, have died and four others have been rescued,” a senior police official said.

On Saturday, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal's office informed that garbage dumping in Ghazipur has been banned with immediate effect, and the landfill site is likely to be cleared within two years.

According to PTI, Baijal had held a meeting to take stock of the situation. The meeting was attended by East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) commissioner Ranbir Singh, RP Singh, general manager at the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), DDA principal commissioner (lands) Rajeev Verma, and experts in landfill site management.

Baijal directed that traffic be diverted on the road adjoining the landfill for proper vehicular movement.

NHAI assured the LG that it will begin the process of lifting, segregating and processing of the solid waste by November 2017, for its use in road construction.

Statement from LG office

It also said that the process has been fast tracked, and the entire landfill site would be cleared within two years.

EDMC that manages the landfill site will send collected garbage for disposal to some alternative site with immediate effect.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal called the incident a man-made disaster and demanded to know why the Municipal Corporation of Delhi doesn’t rely on modern technology to dispose of solid waste.

An NDRF team, comprising 45 personnel, was rushed to the site, a senior NDRF official said.

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Video Editor: Ashutosh Bhardwaj