Kalyan: A massive fire that broke out at the Adharwadi dumping ground in Kalyan on Sunday evening continued to rage for nearly 30 hours, as firefighting teams struggled amid extreme heat and difficult conditions. The fire was brought under control at around 11.30 pm on Monday. The cooling operations were still underway, officials said.Officials said the fire was reported around 6.30 pm on Sunday, after which teams rushed to the spot. The flames intensified quickly and spread across nearly two acres. Six fire engines and multiple water tankers were deployed, but efforts to douse the blaze were hampered by soaring temperatures that reached around 40°C in Kalyan city. The dumping ground at the entry point of Kalyan raised concern as thick smoke from the fire engulfed nearby residential areas. Residents complained of breathing difficulties and irritation due to dense fumes, forcing many to keep their doors and windows shut.Hetal Shah, a resident of Silver Residency building in the Adharwadi area, said, “On one hand, Kalyan is experiencing intense heat, and on the other, the foul smell from the dumping ground fire is causing severe discomfort. We are facing difficulty in breathing. When we shut our doors and windows to avoid the stench, the house becomes extremely humid due to the heat.”Fire officer Namdev Chaudhary said the exact cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained. “It could have started with someone burning garbage or the intense heat,” he said, adding that the scale of the blaze and prevailing weather conditions were making firefighting operations difficult. The Adharwadi dumping ground has long been a contentious issue, with locals demanding its closure due to health concerns. Although the site was officially shut for waste dumping in 2020 after the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation began diverting waste to a processing unit, bio-mining work to clear legacy waste was still underway and was expected to take considerable time. KDMC deputy municipal commissioner Ramdas Kokare said no fresh waste had been dumped at the site since 2020, and efforts were underway to process the existing waste through bio-mining scientifically.
