Fire breaks out at Ghazipur landfill site

NEW DELHI: A minor fire broke out at the Ghazipur landfill in east Delhi and was extinguished in the early hours on Sunday after a seven hour-long of fire fighting operation, a fire official said. No one was injured in the incident.

The fire was reported on Saturday around 5.50 pm at the massive landfill, which had recently partially collapsed leading to death of two persons.

"Five fire tenders were rushed and the blaze was finally brought under control at 1.30 am," an official of Delhi Fire Services said.

The landfill had been shut down following an order by Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, in the wake of the collapse that left two persons dead.

A senior official of East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) said the 45-m high landfill at Ghazipur had already reached saturation point in 2002, and since then the agency had been "looking for an alternative site.

"Two sites were already proposed by Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to EDMC but one (Yamuna bank) is not getting clearance from National Green Tribunal (NGT) and the second site proposed in Bawana faced a wrath from locals. Before allotting of any site by the DDA to the civic bodies, a clearance from the NGT is mandatory," the official said.

All the three landfill sites Bhalswa, Okhla and Ghazipur in the national Capital, reached their respective saturation points (50 metres, while only 20 metres is allowed) almost ten years ago. Yet, in violation of safety hazards, authorities turned a blind eye and continued dumping in the sites.