Gurugram gasps for air: Bandhwari landfill fire doused but toxic fumes fill sky

Gurugram, A fire that broke out at the Bandhwari landfill site in Gurugram two days ago has been doused but the locals are grappling with the toxic fumes that have filled the sky.

A local resident said the repeated fires in the garbage mountain in Bandhwari landfill site have caused more trouble for the people living nearby.

The smoke generated from these fires makes them gasp for air, the resident said.

According to officials, over 25 fire tenders were deployed to control the fire that broke out at the landfill site two days ago.

It took firefighters 16 hours to completely douse the blaze, they said.

However, it was not the lone incident in the area. In 2024, more than 70 fire incidents were reported in the Bandhwadi landfill site between March and June.

Methane gas builds up under garbage in landfills due to the decomposition of organic waste in the absence of oxygen. When it comes in contact with air, it catches fire immediately, according to a Municipal Corporation Gurugram official.

Due to the intensity of the fire, it becomes difficult to control it, he added.

An official said that during a preliminary investigation, waste littering in the forest area emerged as the reason behind the recent fire at the landfill site.

Meanwhile, citizen groups and environmentalists have raised demands for a special force to protect Aravallis.

The forest department had announced that a special force would be formed that would patrol the protected Aravallis and curb illegal encroachments, illegal mining, tree felling etc. But the project has long been shelved.

A senior forest officer said that the forest department will establish over 50 security outposts for almost 1 lakh hectares of the Aravallis in south Haryana.

At present, hundreds of forest guard posts are lying vacant and they will have written to the government to recruit more forest guards, he added.

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