Fire Breaks Out At Delhi's Ghazipur Landfill, Environment Minister Seeks Report

According to a fire department spokesperson, no injuries have been recorded, and nine fire tenders are on the scene to put out the inferno.

Representational Image. (Source: Getty Images)

New Delhi: A major fire broke out at a dumping yard in east Delhi's Ghazipur on Monday, covering the city and surrounding suburbs in a huge cloud of smoke on Monday.

According to a fire department spokesperson, no injuries were reported. Nine fire tenders were rushed to the spot to bring the blaze under control, news agency PTI reported.

Atul Garg, the Chief Fire Officer, said that attempts were underway to extinguish the fire and it would take a few more hours.

ccording to the fire department, a call was received at around 2.30 pm about the fire in Khaata at Ghazipur.

The cause of the fire, according to Garg, is not yet known. The fire broke out at a section of the dumping yard, resulting in a thick blanket of smoke.

Meanwhile, Gopal Rai, the Delhi Environment Minister, has ordered the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) to submit a report on the incident within 24 hours.

Following a wildfire at the Ghazipur garbage site in April last year, the DPCC had fined the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) Rs 40 lakh.

Fires at the dump have been reported to exacerbate pollution levels in the surrounding region.

"Such incidents had been reported from the Ghazipur landfill in the past too, which indicates lack of measures taken and vigilance observed by EDMC to prevent such episodes," an official was quoted by PTI in its report.

In the ongoing budget session of the Delhi Assembly, AAP MLA Kuldeep Kumar discussed the recent fire incident in Ghazipur and sought punishment against the responsible authorities.

He further accused Gautam Gambhir, an East Delhi BJP MP, of the disaster, claiming that people of his Kondli Assembly seat were forced to inhale the deadly smoke produced by the fire.

(With PTI Inputs)