A fire erupted at the open dump yard, near the vermicompost centre, located within the Vellalore landfill premises on Saturday evening, prompting quick response from the Coimbatore Corporation and Fire and Rescue Services, as around two acres of the landfill is said to have been engulfed, so far.
Speaking on the issue, District Collector Kranthi Kumar Pati said, “Efforts are under way to contain the fire and prevent its spread to adjacent areas. A force comprising 15 fire tenders, including units from Coimbatore, Erode, and Tiruppur districts, has been deployed to combat the flames. Over 100 firemen and support personnel are actively engaged in the firefighting operations.”
In addition to manpower, heavy vehicles, including eight hydraulic excavators and two earthmovers, are being utilised to contain the fire. Further, more than 20 water trucks have been mobilised to provide a steady supply of water for extinguishing the fire. Advanced technology, in the form of drones, is also being leveraged to monitor the fire’s progression.
Sources indicate that the incident occurred around 6.30 p.m. and is suspected to have been caused due to a significant rise in temperature over the last couple of days. However, the civic body is yet to confirm this.
“We are working to extinguish the fire by Sunday afternoon,” Mr. Pati said.
The scale of the fire is significant, with over 200 tonnes of legacy waste ablaze at the yard. The nature of the mixed waste involved raises concerns about the release of harmful pollutants into the air and soil. “The Corporation does not require a bio-mining plant as nearly one acre of legacy waste has been incinerated. Further, it is evident that no precautionary measures have been implemented by it,” K.S. Mohan, secretary, Kurichi-Vellalore Pollution Prevention Action Committee, said.
