PUNE, March 25: The devastating fire that broke out at Kothrud garbage depot on Wednesday morning and gutted over 250 huts was brought under control after a 21-hour exercise involving 10 fire engines. However, the residents continue their battle with the thick cloud of smoke emanating from the smouldering embers.Top officials from Pune Municipal Corporation's Central Fire Brigade, who admitted that they were ill-equipped to put out the blaze, hoped to reduce the intensity of the smoke by pouring water on the waste ``within a couple of days''.Several residents claimed that they have taken ill as they suffered from throat irritation, cough and burning eyes. Some others have shifted elsewhere fearing the worst.Three fire engines continued to fetch water from a hydrant near the depot's main gate in an attempt to douse the embers. Columns of smoke replaced the towering flames. Visibility was reduced to a mere 100 feet, so thick was the smoke screen on Thursday afternoon. Columns of smoke rising from the dump yard could be seen from 10 km on Thursday.Fire brigade chief L N Raut said it would take at least two to three days to bring the smoke under control. ``However, the fire may go on till it rains,'' he was quick to add.``There is nothing we can do about it. This is a common phenomenon, called spontaneous ignition in our terminology, at all garbage dumps. Methane, produced in the heaps of the garbage catches fire due to the heat and sets the entire place on fire. Such fires break out at Kothrud garbage dump at least once a day for seven months every year,'' he said.Raut claimed that the only way to prevent such fires was to lay a water pipeline in the entire garbage depot and continue to sprinkle water on the waste to maintain low temperature.``A proposal of setting up a water tank and installing sprinklers at the garbage dump is pending for the many years. Nobody gave it a serious thought as various other proposals about recycling of garbage and using methane produced at the depot were being considered,'' he added.The residents, however, are more concerned about shifting of the dump to some other site. ``Nowadays, we find it hard to breath. Day in and day out we are inhaling nothing but the gases and the smoke emitted by the dump. The pollution is taking toll of our health,'' they echo.Many residents of the area have started suffering from cold, burning eyes and nausea ever since the fire broke out. In fact, all members of my family have taken ill. Our entire house is smoke filled and gusty winds have been bringing in particles of ash, complained P K Kulkarni who resides in a building located at a distance of about 100 feet from the garbage depot. He said his family and some neighbours were considering to shift to a hall in the area till the smoke is brought under control.Most residents of the adjoining Rajpath Housing Society have moved temporarily after the fire broke out. The society chairman, Girish Pradhan, returned home with his family members only after the fire was brought under control. Many have yet to come back.``We went to stay at the house of one of my friends. But how long can we stay there," he grumbled.
