Pachanady landfill fire: DC holds District Crisis Group meeting to review situation

Mangaluru: A meeting of the District Crisis Group was convened on January 12 at the Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner’s office to review the massive fire incident at the Pachanady dump yard.

The fire that broke out on January 6 refuses to die down and still continues to spew thick smoke affecting the air quality in the region.

Deputy Commissioner Ravi Kumar M R, as Chairman of DK District Disaster Management Authority, directed the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) Commissioner to detach the waster and remove the filled sand or soil after extinguishing the fire to prevent landslides during the southwest monsoon.

The MCC commissioner was also directed to form a sub-committee to monitor the fire incident.

Electricity distribution company MESCOM was directed to ensure an uninterrupted power supply at Pachanady till the fire and smoke are completely eliminated from the landfill.

The environment officer of the KSPCB, Mangaluru was directed to lead an advisory board in guiding all industries and government bodies on how to take action and necessary measures in case of any similar mishaps in the future. Directions were also given to remove the ambient air monitoring devices near the fire-affected area because the ambient air quality will be poor during the fire.

The environment officer was also asked to suggest measures to prevent and mitigate the fire incident at the dump yard site.

The DC also requested the industrial representatives from MRPL, MCF, NMOA, HPCL, MLIF, KIOCL, Mangaluru Airport, and MSEZ to extend all possible support to MCC for controlling the existing situation at Pachanady.