Delhi: FIR registered against unknown persons in Ghazipur dump yard fire incident

The Delhi Police has registered a case in connection with the fire that broke out at Ghazipur dumping yard in east Delhi, officials said on Tuesday.

A thick blanket of smoke has engulfed the dumping yard as the blaze that broke out on Monday continued to rage on in some pockets even after over 24 hours.

Four fire tenders are at the spot, an official of the fire department said.“An FIR has been registered under sections 278 (making atmosphere noxious to health), 285 (negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible mat­ter) and 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code against unknown people,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Priyanka Kashyap said.

Chief Fire officer Atul Garg told PTI that the firefighting operations are still underway and it might take a few more hours to complete the cooling process.

No casualty has been reported, they said.

According to the fire department, the call about the fire at Ghazipur’s Khatta was received at 2.30 pm on Monday.

According to data shared by the fire department, a total of four such incidents at landfill sites — two each at Bhalswa and Tughlakabad — took place till Sunday this year.

Last year, during the same period, a total of 16 fire incidents — 12 at Bhalswa and four at Ghazipur — took place.

In 2020, a total of 15 such incidents were reported while 37 were reported in 2019, the data stated.

East Delhi Municipal Corporation’s (EDMC) standing committee chairman Beer Singh Panwar had earlier said the fire was caused due to “high temperature” as plastic is one of the major components of the legacy waste and methane keeps getting generated.

He had said the EDMC has deployed 22 bulldozers to help douse the fire.