Pune: Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC)’s environment department on Saturday attributed the July 8 Moshi landfill disaster to incessant rainfall and the build-up of methane gas pressure within the waste mound.In an official report, the civic department stated that the city received over 650mm of rainfall between July 5 and July 7, allowing large volumes of rainwater to seep into cavities inside the landfill, increasing the pressure of gases generated within the waste mass. “This increased the gas pressure, particularly methane, generated inside the waste mass. The build-up of this pressure, coupled with the incessant rainfall, triggered a massive slide of the garbage mound,” Sanjay Kulkarni, city engineer and head of PCMC’s environment department, stated in the report.Officials said the building was located around 30 metres from the landfill and that the garbage mound gave way within seconds, leaving occupants with little time to react.
80 hours on
According to the report, the affected sanitary landfill cell has been operational since 2014-15 and contains an estimated 1-1.2 million cubic metres (10-12 lakh cubic metres) of waste. The garbage mound had reached a height of 25-30 metres. The Moshi waste depot, spread across 81 acres, receives and processes municipal waste from across the city.The landfill had been developed using standard engineering practices, including graded side slopes and periodic soil cover to aid waste stabilisation and decomposition, the report stated. “No inspection report or prior observation had indicated any signs of instability or an imminent risk of a landslide before the incident,” it stated.A civic official said, “Biomining of the garbage mound has already been planned under the second phase of the landfill remediation project. The work is, however, scheduled to begin after the monsoon as biomining requires dry waste for effective processing.”The report further said industrial safety protocols were in place at the waste depot. According to PCMC, waste was deposited in layers, each covered with soil, while stable side slopes were maintained to ensure landfill safety.The officials said security guards were stationed around the garbage mound and equipped with walkie-talkies for emergency communication. PCMC maintained that the existing safety mechanism was adequate to facilitate a swift response to any untoward incident.
