A fire broke out at east Delhi’s Ghazipur landfill site on Monday after which a remote-controlled robot beside fire tenders was used to douse the blaze. Officials said they received a call regarding the incident at about 1:30 pm following which 13 fire tenders and the robotic machine were pressed to the spot to put off the flames, a senior official of the Delhi Fire Service said, as per a PTI report. The landfill, which has remained a major issue in the national capital, experiences fire often during the summer season.
In March 2022, a massive fire broke out at the dumping yard of the landfill leading to a huge cloud of smoke enveloping the region and neighbouring areas.
To prevent fires at the landfill site, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai last year launched a 9-point action plan which includes various measures.
The plan proposed construction of a peripheral road around the dumpsites to facilitate movement of vehicles, patrolling teams and fire tenders and a 4-metre high boundary wall with barbed wire fencing to prevent unauthorised entry into the dumpsites.
Under the plan, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has been directed to involve an agency for segregation of waste being dumped at the landfill sites to prevent unauthorised entry of ragpickers.
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Perforated high-density polyethylene pipes will be installed to prevent the accumulation of the highly flammable gas and a dedicated surveillance squad will keep a strict vigil over the activities going on at the dumpsites.
The organic waste dumped in a landfill produces methane when it rots. Methane catches fire spontaneously in hot weather conditions and the blaze spreads as it feeds on combustible material like textiles and plastics, the report stated, quoting experts as saying.