A massive fire erupted at the Baramati Municipal Corporation's garbage depot near Ambika Nagar in the city at around 2 a.m. on Thursday. The flames quickly engulfed the site, emitting thick plumes of smoke that spread across the vicinity. The blaze wreaked havoc on a range of waste sorting systems and piles of refuse. Strikingly, these systems had been newly implemented by the civic body just a few months prior.
Initial estimates put the financial toll of the blaze at around Rs 80 lakh. Despite the presence of vigilant watchmen and operational CCTV systems, the cause of the fire remains a mystery. Mahesh Rokade, the Municipal officials, stated that investigations into the cause are currently underway.
Fire brigades from Baramati Municipal Council, MIDC, and Chhatrapati Cooperative Sugar Factory, rushed to the site to battle the fierce flames. However, the intensity of the fire posed significant challenges. Around seven to eight waste segregation machines from both Baramati Municipality and Luko Company were lost to the fire. Preliminary estimates suggest that nearly 900 tonnes of sorted waste fell victim to the blaze, resulting in losses of about Rs 40 lakh, in addition to further losses of Rs 25-30 lakh to the systems.