Four days later,smoke billows from Sonsoddo

MARGAO: Hardly four days after the fire and smog at the Sonsoddo garbage dump was put off by the fire and emergency services in a gruelling nine-day fire fighting exercise, smoke started billowing from the dump once again on Saturday creating panic among the locals.
The fire brigade personnel immediately swung into action, and succeeded in putting off the smoke with the help of mud and water. The incident occurred on Saturday afternoon, and the fire fighting exercise lasted for well over two hours, it was informed.
“Smoke was billowing from several pockets in the dump though there was no fire,” deputy director, Nitin Raikar told TOI
“The existence of methane gas trapped inside the dump coupled with the high temperature resuIts in such fires. On account of its inadequate dissipation, heat gets accumulated within the dump - and as the garbage largely consists of combustible gases and material – it leads to spontaneous combustion,” deputy director, Nitin Raikar told TOI.
While the mud dumped near the garbage yard came in handy for the fire fighting operation in Saturday, the fire brigade services has requisitioned to the Margao Municipal Council 35 more trucks of mud to be made available at the site in case of recurrence of fire to the garbage dump. “There is every possibility of recurrence of fire. A fire brigade has been stationed there now as a precautionary measure and our personnel are constantly keeping a watch over the dump,” Raikar said.
Fire had broken out at the garbage dump on May 27 engulfing the locality with thick smog for days together. The fire fighting operations were called off on June 4. The incident had sparked protests from locals who demanded that only segregated waste be brought to Sonsoddo.
Deputy chief minister Vijai Sardesai, had acknowledged that the fire incident at Sonsoddo was a result of “negligence” and “neglect” towards the festering problem for years. He had said that though the fire has been put off, the threat continued to exist, as methane gas still lay beneath the dump that has now been capped with mud.