With rising temperatures amid a heatwave sweeping through India. Landfill fires have been burning at Delhi’s Bhalswa and Chennai’s Perungudi for over a day, even as firefighters struggle to douse the fires.
While no official cause of the fire has been ascertained, officials say that it is likely due to rising temperatures leading to the formation of methane gas which is flammable.
Here is a glimpse.
Text: PTI/The Hindu.
Photos : Reuters, The Hindu, AFP.
Fire tenders from five stations across Chennai reached the Perungudi dumpyard to put out the fire which started on April 27.
The Perungudi dumpyard has about 3.63 million cubic metres of legacy waste lying across 125 acres. Another 200 acres is used for waste processing and daily waste dumping.
Chennai’s Perungudi landfill sees over 2000 tonnes of wet waste being dumped at the site on a daily basis.
Fire trucks attempt to put out the fire as smoke billows from burning garbage at the Bhalswa landfill site in New Delhi.
Four fire tenders are working at the Delhi Bhalswa landfill to put out the fire.
Fire officials say that it will take another day to put out the fire at the Bhalswa landfill in New Delhi.
The National Capital Region has seen daytime temperatures over 42 degrees Celsius this past week.
While no cause of the fire has been determined, officials say that rising temperature among solid waste leads to the formation of methane gas which is flammable.
Three landfill fire incidents have been reported at the Ghazipur landfill site this year .
Residents around the Bhalswa landfill have complained of issues like sore throat, itchy eyes and breathing problems.
The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has slapped a fine of ₹ 50 lakh on the North Delhi Municipal Corporation for negligence to prevent the fire at the Bhalswa dumpyard.
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