A fire that broke out at Deonar dumping ground on Saturday in the eastern suburbs of Mumbai is still raging, civic officials said. 

The blaze started at around 1.40 PM on Saturday and since then the fire brigade has been struggling to put it out, said officials of the disaster control unit of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai. 

12 fire engines and 10 water tankers are stationed at the spot, reports NDTV. The fire became strong at around 8.30 PM on Sunday. 

“A senior fire officer has also been sent to the spot for cooling operations. Since January, when the major fire broke out, we have stationed a fire engine at the spot,” said a civic official, who spoke to Indian Express.

Chief fire officer P S Rahangdale, speaking to Times Of India said wind velocity was causing the current fire to spread. “We are trying our best to douse the blaze and fire engines and water tankers are at work,” he said. 

A Times of India report also quotes Shivaji Nagar corporator Shaikh Mohammed Siraj blaming ‘miscreants’ and held them responsible for the fire. 

Reports also quoted residents in the nearby areas who were fed up with the dumping ground frequently catching fire. 

Deonar is one of the biggest dumping grounds in Mumbai and this isn’t even the first time such a fire has started in the dump. 

A major blaze had broken out at the same dumping yard on January 27, spread across 326 acres, and took fire brigade more than a week to douse it. It had created a thick blanket of smog that hit the entire city’s air quality.

Here’s how Twitter reacted to the news of the fire:

(Feature image source: Twitter | @ANI_news)