A fire broke out at Delhi’s main landfill at Ghazipur late afternoon on April 20, 2022. This is the second time the garbage dump caught fire in less than a month. Photo: Vikas Choudhary / CSE
The fire started on the side of the landfill facing Rajbir Colony, exposing many residents of this east Delhi neighbourhood to toxic fumes. Fire tenders were rushed to the spot a little after 4pm, when the Delhi Fire Service was informed. Photo: Vikas Choudhary / CSE
The last blaze on March 28, 2022 took over two days to be doused. It caused the air quality of the capital to deteriorate just as it was recovering from an extremely polluted winter. The noxious gases have a devastating impact on the people and wildlife in the surrounding areas. Photo: Vikas Choudhary / CSE
Ghazipur landfill has an immense burden of legacy waste that has turned it into a 65-metre high hill of garbage. Despite waste processing regulations, a significant share of the municipal solid waste that is dumped in this landfill is unsegregated. Photo: Vikas Choudhary / CSE
The uncontrollable mass of waste produces methane gas that can self-ignite at 50-60 degrees Celsius. These temperatures are easily reached at the landfill in summer, turning it into a tinderbox. Photo: Vikas Choudhary / CSE
