Eleven fire engines and eight tankers were deployed to contain the fire that broke out at Deonar dumping ground on Sunday night.
Monday morning
visuals showed air filled with smoke and the situation is not yet under control. Even as cooling operations are underway at the Deonar
dumping yard, the toxic smoke which engulfed Govandi’s Shivaji Nagar, some parts of
Mankhurd and Zakir Hussain Nagar and Baiganwadi area is causing discomfort to
locals.
The same dumping ground caught fire on Saturday afternoon too.
The reason behind the fire could not yet be ascertained. Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had been forced to shut down 74 schools run by it as smoke from the fire then engulfed the area, causing breathing problems.
The schools were located in the M-ward, where people are complaining about a foul smell due to the burning of garbage at the dumping ground.
Schools in M-ward, including those in Chembur, Deonar, Tilak Nagar, Pestom Sagar, Shivaji Nagar, Mankhurd and Baiganwadi, were closed for two days.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had ordered a probe into the fire and smog at Deonar by a panel headed by a senior IPS officer. He had also directed that the sabotage angle be investigated in connection with the fire.
The dumping ground situated in the eastern suburb of Mumbai is susceptible to fire –
this is the third incident of fire in a month.
Even last year in January, the waste collecting ground caught fire which lasted for a week.
Also Read: Fire on Mumbai’s 18-Storey Landfill Can Be Seen From Space
(With PTI inputs)
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