Temperature not high, but Bandhwari landfill sees 3 fires in 24 hours

GURGAON: In the last 24 hours, four fire tenders were sent to Bandhwari landfill to douse flames. Fire department officials confirmed that these were not massive incidents. The first call was made to the fire department at 2.15pm on Monday when two fire tenders were sent to the spot.
Another call was made at 6.54 pm, when the department sent one fire tender and a fire tender was sent to the site at 9.47am on Tuesday after a minor fire broke out at the landfill.
Despite the fact that the temperature was not too high on Monday, the minor fire incidents at the landfill are a cause of concern. “There was a minor fire when we reached the landfill. We had taken two fire tenders but only one vehicle was used to douse the fire. I was back with the vehicles by 4pm, however, we had to go again as another distress call was made at around 7pm,” said Virender, the driver of the fire tender.
“The fire at the landfill site was minor, however it was reported three times in the last 24 hours. Fire at the landfill is caused by spontaneous combustion of the methane gas at the landfill. There is a higher concentration of methane at the landfill. These incidents usually happen when the temperatures are soaring high and at such times we send 15-20 fire tenders,” said a fire department official.
“The cause of the fire is methane since it is highly flammable. Such incidents are often reported at the site,” said Naresh Kumar, MCG joint commissioner (Swachh Bharat Mission).
“If the authorities are not able to control landfill fires even after a fine of Rs 100 crore was slapped on them, it is a complete failure. The mixed waste at the landfill is catching fire, multiple times in the last 24 hours. There is no smoke without fire, even if it is a minor fire. The landfill fires are a health hazard and it is a major concern since it happened when the temperature was not too high,” said Vaishali Rana Chandra, an environmental activist. Multiple incidents of fire have been reported at Bandhwari landfill in the past.