MARGAO: As Sonsoddo continued to burn throughout the day on Tuesday, Tranquil Speciality Products Pvt Ltd stepped in to use an enzyme to stop methane formation at the site and control the fire. The situation looked grim as at around 8 pm when the enzyme was to be spread, as the fire increased and practically engulfed the entire dumpyard.
Though the fire services had doused the fire at 3 am Tuesday, at daybreak it broke out again in small pockets and the whole area continued to be covered with smoke. The spontaneous combustion occurring at Sonsoddo is due to continuous bacterial activity that is going on as there is wet waste mixed in a dump site that is as high as an eight-floor building and as the gas build up finds its way to get out that is when the fire occurs.
Till 6 pm, 14 fire tenders including two from Curchorem and four from Verna had been pressed into service to control the fire that kept erupting at the dump site.
According to Margao Fire Station Officer the fire is deep inside the dump site and will keep erupting sporadically unless and until the fire is doused deep inside.
On Monday night over one lakh litres of water were used by fire tenders to control the fire that started again Tuesday morning engulfing the whole area with smoke.
Motorists had a harrowing time crossing Sonsoddo as there was smoke all over and they could not see properly.
Chris Albuquerque from Raia disclosed that it took him nearly 15 minutes to cover the small stretch at Sonsoddo and further said that a lady nearly fell with her two- wheeler as she was blinded by the smoke.
Margao Municipal Council Chairperson, Dr Babita Prabhudessai, Chief Officer Siddhivinayak Naik along with engineers and other councilors were monitoring the situation at Sonsoddo continuously. Prabhudessai, who lives nearby said that the smoke was present even near her flat.
She said the council was leaving no stone unturned to treat this problem and disclosed that the Collector South has agreed to provide special lights to help spray the enzyme in the night as it was being brought from Mumbai.
Tranquill Speciality Products Pvt Ltd that had controlled the fire at Devnar in Mulund stepped in to control the fire at Sonsoddo. Yayati Prabhakar Sarode said Renerzyme will be spread mixed in a fire tender tank and was confident that the fire will be brought under control at the most after two hours.
The company’s Goa representative Anand Neurenkar said they were not promoting their business but were involved only because the health of people would be affected by the hazardous smoke.
The company representative who was overlooking the whole operation directed that the enzyme be sprayed for 10 minutes following which there was break to allow the fire to die down and after another ten minutes another
spot was be sprayed. In this manner the fire on top was controlled and the work to control the rest of fire is expected to continue through the night. Special lights and generators were pressed into service to illuminate the whole area.
