A fire broke out at Ghazipur landfill in New Delhi on Sunday,Express Photo by Gajendra Yadav,100422 “We live in constant regret. We are used to the bad air, flooded drains, mosquitoes and smoke… but how will our children live? My son complains of fever and sore throat every month. Whenever a fire breaks out at the landfill, we cover our windows and sit without a fan to control the smoke and ash. My house is still covered in ash. This is our life… struggling to breathe,” said Manorama (40), a homemaker who has been living with her family in Kondli village, right next to the Ghazipur landfill, for almost 20 years.
Yet another fire broke out at the landfill on Saturday night — the second one in nearly two weeks — said officials. On March 28, a massive fire broke out at the site which was put out only after 48 hours. Saturday’s fire raged for over three hours.
Locals said the two fires coupled with the soaring heat have been a “curse” for them.
Sitting beside Manorama, her friend Sultana (28) said, “I bet nobody can live here for more than a day. The lanes are usually filled with sewer water… the stench is horrible. Last night when the fire broke out, I was sitting outside my shop. I rushed inside because the fire spread to other mounds of garbage and the smoke made it difficult for me to see and breathe. This time, the fire was brought under control sooner. I remember the last fire… my father, who has asthma, fell sick and collapsed… We wish we had other means to survive and could shift somewhere…”
Delhi Fire Service (DFS) officials said that they received a call about the fire around 10.30 pm. “We deployed four fire tenders as the blaze had spread to piles of garbage. We acted quickly and first controlled the fire and it was doused around 1 am. Fire tenders were sent back after a cooling operation to control the smoke,” said an officer.
For Mahavir Singh (37) and Ranbir (58), who work as labourers, there is no hope of things changing. “… The MCD, Delhi government and other officials come here every year. They talk to us and leave without doing anything. The roads are a little better now, but the drains are clogged. We are tired of the mosquitoes and dust… My children complain of irritation in the eyes, nausea, chest pain… When the fire broke out last week, I took them to their aunt’s place in Noida,” said Mahavir.
Following the fire last week, police had registered a case against unknown persons under sections of making the atmosphere noxious to health, negligent conduct with respect to fire and act endangering life. More than 110 firefighters worked for two days to control the blaze.
DFS chief Atul Garg had told The Indian Express that the team faced many challenges as there was a risk of firemen slipping and falling off, and suffocation from the smoke and toxic gases.
Around 5-6 excavators and four fire tenders were deployed to first break down the piles of garbage and then hose them down, he said.
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