The Hindu 22.03.2016
Deonar fire could be sabotage, says BMC
Children play cricket near Deonar landfill even as the Brihanmumbai
Municipal Corporation imposed prohibitory orders in the area on
Monday.—Photo: Mukesh Trivedi
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has
announced imposition of prohibitory orders in areas around the Deonar
dumping ground following fears that the raging fire at the waste site
could have been a case of sabotage.
Municipal
Commissioner Ajoy Mehta said on Monday that the process to initiate
prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code
(CrPC) to regulate law and order will begin soon, even if it means
regulating rag-pickers and free movement of residents in and around the
waste site.
Meanwhile, Union Environment Minister
Prakash Javadekar termed the toxic fumes emanating from the fire as “a
serious issue” and said a two-member special team will be sent to
investigate the incident. Mr Javadekar, who held a telephonic
conversation with Mr Mehta on the issue, blamed the fire on the
“callousness” of the contractors in charge of managing the dump yard,
and said action will be taken against the violators.
However, Mr Mehta said so far there was no concrete case of action taken against the contractor.
“We
want to send out a strong message that a waste yard cannot be treated
as a free moving thoroughfare by anyone. We fear sabotage, and have
registered a case with the local police in this regard,” he said.
This
is not the first time the Deonar dumping ground has seen a major fire.
This year alone, fire has raged several times, and in February the
impact could be seen across the city, which was covered with a thick
layer of haze and smog for several days. Pollution levels rose, and
medical practitioners reported a spike in pulmonary problems resulting
directly or indirectly from the fire.
Over this last
weekend, another fire started, engulfing the residential areas in the
vicinity with a thick cloud of haze and smog. The municipal corporation
said the fire started on Sunday and was doused with the help of
water-cooling and fire safety measures on Monday morning. However,
residents said the after effects of the fire could be felt by the locals
for many days.
The BMC said it has deployed 70
firemen and four fire engines to the site. It has been dumping debris
over the garbage to restrict the emission of methane gas.
The
corporation, Mr Mehta claimed, has already taken a slew of measures
around the dumping ground, where the fire has been intermittently raging
for many days now. The BMC used services of experts from Indian
Institute of Technology (IIT), who have suggested in their report to
flatten out mountains of garbage at the site. According to BMC’s own
estimate, there is about 12 million tonnes of waste piled up at the
132-hectare landfill which has been operational since 1927.
