Ghazipur burns, air 'severe'; AAP, BJP begin blame game
Ndeew delhi: It took over 10 hours, more than nine fire tenders and a fight to douse a massive fire at the Ghazipur landfill site in east Delhi.
According to fire officials, they received information regarding the blaze at 9.56 pm on Tuesday following which five fire tenders were rushed to the spot. Later, three more fire engines were dispatched to douse the blaze.
"Fire is in different parts of the landfill site. Several flammable items have been dumped which is acting as a catalyst in the spread of fire. It has taken us some time to control it," the official said, adding that nine fire tenders are present at the spot.
As per the official, "The firefighters are working at risk because the fire is in the garbage dump and it is not a solid thing it may fall anytime and there are also several other reasons due to which it is taking time."
Data from the Delhi Fire Services has shown that garbage burning in the Capital is rapidly increasing, with 405 incidents of garbage burning reported to fire officials in 19 days of October itself. According to the data, a sharp spike in garbage fires can be seen since September. The DFS has received a total of 2,179 calls related to garbage burning in the city this year so far.
Meanwhile, as AAP leader Durgesh Pathak on Wednesday claimed that BJP leaders have set a fire in the Ghazipur landfill site to defame the Arvind Kejriwal government, the saffron party denied these allegations and said only AAP leaders can think of such allegations because they themselves might be doing such acts.
Pathak, in a statement, said that due to the fire in the garbage mountain, people are choking. He said that BJP leaders are playing with the lives of Delhi residents by burning the mountain of garbage.
He also said that the AAP demands there should be a fair investigation into the fire at the landfill site and strict action should be taken against the culprits.
Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said that AAP spokesperson Durgesh Pathak's statement that fire at Ghazipur landfill site has been deliberately caused by BJP leaders speaks volume on his political conduct.
In addition, Delhi's air quality deteriorated to the "severe" category on Wednesday due to slow winds, government agencies said. Stubble burning accounted for two per cent of Delhi's PM2.5 pollution on Wednesday. SAFRA forecasted winds to pick up and improve the ventilation condition by Thursday.
