More than 17 hours after a fire broke out at the Ghazipur landfill site in east Delhi on Sunday, Delhi Police has now filed FIR against unknown persons. Delhi cabinet minister Atishi on Monday said the Ghazipur landfill fire incident will be investigated to ascertain the cause of the blaze. Officials have cited hot and dry weather conditions as the likely trigger for the fire.
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"Yesterday, Deputy Mayor Aaley Mohammad Iqbal visited the site. Today, Mayor Shelly Oberoi will be visiting the site to take stock of the situation. The Delhi Fire Service tenders were deployed through the night and the blaze has been doused. Some smoke is still left. We will surely carry out an investigation into the cause of the fire and the process by which it started," Atishi said at a press conference. Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva on Monday visited Ghazipur landfill where garbage caught fire a day before and charged it was an example of "corruption" of the AAP government. Thick plumes of smoke still rose skywards from Ghazipur landfill on Monday, hours after a major fire broke out there. Despite efforts by the Delhi Fire Service to control the blaze on Monday, local residents living nearby complaint of breathing issues, eye irritation, and throat discomfort.
Speaking to the media, a local resident expressed concerns about the persistent issue, stating, "We have been facing this problem since the 1990s. We are dealing with diabetes, BP, thyroid, and irritation in the eyes. Even small children are suffering due to it. We are having irritation in the eyes. We are not able to go out. No one is paying attention to our problems, be it the Delhi government or the central government." Another resident complained about the visibility problem in the region, stating, "I was not able to breathe properly. I was having irritation in my eyes. As the temperature increases, fires will continue to occur. The government is not resolving this issue." Meanwhile, the BJP criticized the Delhi government, alleging that it had promised to clear the Ghazipur landfill site by December 31 last year but did not keep its word.