Fire breaks out at landfill site in Mangaluru's Pacchanady

Mangaluru: Fire broke out at Pacchanady landfill site on Tuesday. Fire tenders and water tankers were rushed to the dumping yard to douse the fire.

“We suspect that the gas trapped in legacy waste could have triggered the fire”, Mayor Sudheer Shetty Kannur told DH.

Smoke had engulfed the area and residents had to endure the stench.

Mayor said that he, along with MCC Commissioner Anand C L, Deputy Commissioner Mullai Muhilan visited the site this morning.

“Fire tenders have been pressed to service and are engaged in the needful. The intensity of the fire is less, but it was spreading due to the change in direction of the wind. About five earth movers were engaged in rolling legacy waste after fire was doused to ensure that it is extinguished fully,” he said.

The fire is suspected due to release of gas at the landfill site. Such mishaps at dumping yard are common during summer. It may be recalled that an accidental fire had occurred at a landfill site on January 6 in 2022 and it took more than 10 days to douse it. Later, the fire was reported once again in the first week of February and in March as well.

C R Ranganath, regional fire officer, Mangaluru range said that the fire was noticed in the wee hours of Tuesday.

Borewells dug

The mayor said that the Managlauru City Corporation (MCC) has already dug two borewells at the dumping yard to supply water for fire extinguishing purpose.

Further, funds have been earmarked under 15th Finance Commission to lay pipelines bordering the landfill site. The pipelines have been laid in one portion of the area. This will help to spray water to the landfill in case of any fire mishap in future.

The work on clearing about nine lakh tonnes of legacy waste at landfill site, spread across 42 acres of land, has been entrusted to National Federation of Farmers Procurement and Processing and Retailing Co-operatives of India Limited (NACOF).

On an average, MCC generates over 300 tonnes of solid waste daily. Wet waste is converted into manure and dry waste is used for recycling.