3 days on, Deonar fire yet to be brought under control

The fire that broke out at the Deonar dumping ground on Thursday is still not brought under control.

Despite the fire brigade deploying 14 fire tenders, 2 mini water tenders (water mist), 8 water tankers, 3 ambulances, breathing apparatus van and other equipment, fire is still on.

Twenty-one fire officers and 132 fire fighters are engaged the in fire-fighting operations. Yet, every household in the area is filled with thick blanket of smoke and people are complaining of severe breathing problems. The 74 schools in the area are already shut.

While official figures put the population in the area at 2.5 lakh, residents say it is 8-10 lakh. There are more than 55,000 homes in Shivajinagar and Baiganwadi, which are in the immediate periphery of the dumping ground.
What's making the situation worse is that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is still dumping garbage there.

The BMC says it is left with no other option as there are no other dumping site. Deonar is one of the biggest dumping grounds in Mumbai and has reached its limits.

The smoke, which, till Thursday, filled the entire eastern suburbs, moved towards Vashi on Friday. On Saturday, it was spreading towards western suburbs.

The BMC declared it as a disaster level II situation on Friday, a day after the fire brigade declared it as Grade I fire.

"On Thursday, fire brigade officers reached the site and doused the fire in a few hours and reported that the operation was complete. But fire broke out again on Friday. Even on Friday, fire officers reported that the fire was doused twice – at 12 noon and 4 pm. But fire was not doused completely," said Rais Shaikh, Samajwadi Party leader in the BMC and corporator from Govandi.

For the first time, 150 litres of 'jet cool solution' was used. Kailash Hiwrale, chief fire officer (in-charge), was supervising operations.

Additional municipal commissioner Sanjay Deshmukh is co-ordinating all activities to control the fire.

Civic sources say scrap mafia, rag pickers and drug addicts usually do mischief in the area. Authorities are investigating if there is any foul play.

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis tweeted that he has asked the police commissioner to investigate the possibility of a sabotage. An FIR has been registered under Section 435 IPC against 3 unknown juveniles, based on the complaint of a security officer.

If the civic body continues dumping at Deonar, the Nationalist Congress Party has threatened a demonstration at the Make in India venue when Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives for the inaugural function.

A senior civic official said that schools will be reopened only after assessing the situation. "Fire brigade officers have assured us that fire will be controlled and cooling operation will continue on Sunday. We hope to reopen schools on Monday," said an official.

Environmentalists seek criminal case

Environmentalists have demanded that a criminal case be filed against all civic officials in charge of the dumping ground, along with the chief minister and the environment minister for putting the lives of people at risk.

Stalin D, director of projects for Vanashakti, an NGO, said that the chief minister is waking up only now now to talk about the issue. "People of Mumbai have been suffering and breathing toxic fumes and it's strange that the fire can't be managed," he said. Environmentalists have been demanding the closure of dumping grounds.