Residents and motorists in the vicinity of a landfill in Vaniyambadi experienced suffocation following a fire that raged at the site for several hours on Sunday.
In the wee hours of Sunday, a few residents called up the Vaniyambadi Town police, municipal officials, and firefighters, after they spotted a fire raging in the landfill.
The officials arrived at the spot, along with two tankers, and the fire was contained by noon after an hours-long operation.
“More than 10 municipal staff, including health officials, police, and firefighters swung into action to douse the fire,” E. Thirunavakkarasu, Municipal Commissioner, Vaniyambadi municipality, told The Hindu.
The mounds of garbage at the landfill were engulfed in thick smoke, with the residents and motorists complaining of suffocation, eye irritation, and uneasiness while breathing.
Officials said some miscreants would have set fire to the garbage pile-up. Steps have been taken to prevent such incidents in the future.
At present, 30 to 35 metric tonnes of garbage, including domestic waste, are dumped every day at the landfill that was set up in the 1970s when the municipality had a few thousand households within its limits. Over the years, the local body grew in size - in terms of both area and population.
