New Delhi, Apr 26 (PTI) Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Tuesday asked the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) to submit a report on the fire that broke out at Bhalswa landfill in north Delhi within 24 hours, officials said.

Several videos of the incident showed the blaze engulfing the mountain of garbage, sending a dense plume of smoke into the sky and exacerbating the already polluted air in nearby areas.

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On April 21, Rai had said the Delhi government will study a system installed in Mumbai to capture methane from the rotting waste and replicate it in the capital to prevent fires at landfills.

The Ghazipur landfill has seen three such fires since March 28.

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The wet waste dumped in a landfill produces methane when it rots. In hot weather conditions, methane catches fire spontaneously and the blaze spreads as it feeds on combustible material like textiles and plastics.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)