The three-day fire that had ravaged Mumbai’s Deonar garbage dumping ground since Saturday was finally brought under control late on Monday night. It took at least 12 fire engines to douse the flames, but the ordeal for those living around Deonar is far from over.
WATCH: Fire at Deonar dumping ground (Mumbai) continues, situation still not under control.https://t.co/dJmAf5EBMc
— ANI (@ANI_news) March 21, 2016
Highly toxic smoke continues to rise from the mounds of burnt garbage in the landfill, residents living in the surrounding suburbs continue to experience low visibility and breathing difficulties, and municipal authorities are now trying to investigate possible sabotage as the cause of the fire.
This weekend’s blaze was the third time that fires broke out within Mumbai’s largest dumping ground since January and each time, the toxic fumes had a direct impact on the city’s pollution levels and air quality index.#Morning visuals: Area continues to be under thick smog due to fire at Mumbai's Deonar dumpyard pic.twitter.com/uXVgVf5fPI
— ANI (@ANI_news) March 22, 2016
Angry residents of the city's north-eastern suburbs around Deonar held a protest at Azad Maidan on Tuesday morning, demanding an immediate solution to the frequent fires that have been choking them, forcing them to shut down schools and causing a range of respiratory health problems.
Smoke chokes: Citizens protest against Deonar dumping ground fire via @htTweets https://t.co/oRSsHd5SPs #CHEMBUR #GOVANDI #MANKHURD suffer
— Chembur Chapters (@ChemburChapters) March 22, 2016
Wheezing, coughing & sneezing since 7 am in the morning. What's a solution to #DeonarFire Not working hard for health hazards @Dev_Fadnavis
— Priyanka Ghosh (@Priyanka_HG) March 22, 2016
Meanwhile on Twitter, photos uploaded by residents reveal the scale of the disaster that continues to unfold around the dumping ground even though the flames have been extinguished for now.
My view on Saturday when I was inching closer to the airport. Mumbai didn't want me to miss Delhi #DeonarFire pic.twitter.com/I5qKlqJX2P
— SuSingh (@suhani84) March 22, 2016
@Dev_Fadnavis Sir This morning view from my house in Chembur,Deonar fire is affecting children pic.twitter.com/MmVeCDMXC3
— Sunil Advani (@suniladvani65) March 22, 2016
Smog all over Kurla E with a stench of burnt plastic @RidlrMUM @toi @LocalPressCo #DeonarFire
— Siddhesh Jadhav (@jammyboy_sid) March 22, 2016
PC: @shetty_suchitra pic.twitter.com/1W2JliqRfJ