Gurugram village chokes as fires at dumpyard worsen air quality
As air quality continues to deteriorate, residents of Khandsa village are struggling to breathe due to a recurring fire at the ‘khatta’, which has been burning for the past seven days.
The ‘khatta’ is a secondary waste collection point where domestic waste from across the city is gathered before being transported to a treatment plant. Residents of Khandsa village have sent a letter to the Gurugram Municipal Corporation (MC), reporting that the dumpyard has been smouldering for the past seven days, leaving them struggling to breathe.
The residents allege that the fires are being set intentionally, with blazes igniting post-midnight each day. “You can see the large quantities of waste being deliberately set on fire inside the khatta. This is terrible. The air is already thick with smoke, and someone is intentionally burning waste here, only adding to our health problems. Waste from factories is also brought at night and dumped here, with fires starting past midnight. The fire station in Sector 37 has records. We urgently call on the Gurugram MC to investigate and hold accountable those who are regularly setting this waste on fire,” the letter states.
Speaking to The Tribune, the villagers said fires were being ignited every night since Diwali, making it difficult to breathe. “We have to keep our children and elders inside and can’t open a single window or door. Life was already tough with the neglected dumpyard, but the burning garbage has made things unbearable. We have to call the fire brigade every day,” said Sudhir Rana of the village welfare committee.
Ruchika Sethi of Citizens for Clean Air Bharat noted that villagers face this issue each year. “Unfortunately, fires like these at khattas go unreported. If they were documented, the authorities could identify pollution hotspots more effectively. Currently, with GRAP-2 invoked, respirable pollution particles exceed 250 µg/m³ — almost 14 times the safe limit. Villagers are frustrated and feel neglected as these fires continue in blatant violation of environmental and municipal regulations,” said Sethi.
