Maha CM Devendra Fadnavis orders probe by senior IPS officers into Deonar fire and smog

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday ordered a probe into the recent fire and smog in suburban Deonar by a panel headed by a senior IPS officer. “The CM has asked Additional Commissioner of Police Manoj Lohiya to investigate the fire and subsequent smog which inconvenienced people and even led to the closure of schools in that area for a couple of days,” said a senior official in the Chief Minister’s Office. [caption id=“attachment_2480186” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. PTI[/caption] A fire at Deonar dumping ground last week had led the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to shut down 74 schools run by it for two days as the smoke from the ground caused breathing trouble in the area. The schools are located in M-ward, where people complained about a foul smell arising due to the burning of garbage, a BMC official said. Schools in M-ward, including those in Chembur, Deonar, Tilak Nagar, Pestom Sagar, Shivaji Nagar, Mankhurd and Baiganwadi, were closed for two days (last Friday and Saturday). Deonar is one of the biggest dumping grounds in Mumbai and the amount of garbage that ends up there is increasing by the year, leaving people fuming and complaining. Fadnavis recently spoke to BMC Commissioner Ajoy Mehta, who informed him that the smoke at Deonar was substantially under control. “I’ve asked CP, Mumbai, to inquire into the possibility of a sabotage,” Fadnavis had earlier said after talking to the BMC chief. Mumbai Police have filed a case against three unknown persons for starting the fire at the Deonar dumping ground. Since last Thursday, a thick blanket of smog has engulfed parts of Mumbai due to various factors, including a drop in the minimum temperature, the fire at the Deonar dumping ground and high levels of particulate pollutants in the city, leading to poor air quality in the metropolis. PTI