Residents reel under health crisis, Bhandewadi fire worsens living conditions

Nagpur: As thick black smoke from the Bhandewadi dumping yard fire engulfed nearby residential areas, residents of Abumiya Nagar, Tulsi Nagar, and Oriya Mohalla found themselves grappling with a deepening health and environmental crisis — one that they say has plagued them for years.
"For us, this fire is just the latest disaster," said Shaheen Bi, a resident of Abumiya Nagar, covering her face with a wet cloth to shield against the suffocating smoke. "Every day we inhale poisonous gases from the dumping yard. Today it has become unbearable," she said.
Localities like Tulsi Nagar, located barely a few metres from the landfill, were the worst hit. Residents complained that the already foul-smelling air turned toxic after the blaze, forcing many to flee their homes, temporarily. "The stench and smoke are so bad that our children can't even breathe properly. Many elders are feeling dizzy and sick," said Ramesh Uike, a Tulsi Nagar resident, whose family took shelter at a relative's place in another part of the city.
TOI visited the landfill and found that residential localities reportedly came up closer to the dumping yard. Amid the raging blaze, several occupants of houses in Tulsi Nagar — located just outside the boundary wall of the Bhandewadi dumping yard — began vacating their shanties, carrying their belongings to safer areas.
Environmentalist Leena Buddhe raised concerns over the absence of a mandatory buffer zone around the Bhandewadi dumping yard, pointing out that slums have come up dangerously close to the landfill. "Even layouts have been sanctioned in the vicinity, violating basic environmental norms," she said, warning that the situation poses a serious threat to public health and safety.
Beyond the immediate threat of fire and smoke, people in these colonies have long suffered from chronic health problems attributed to the dumping yard. Skin infections, breathing difficulties, and stomach ailments have become common complaints. "We have been living in a gas chamber for years," said Santosh Pradhan from Oriya Mohalla. "The groundwater here is so polluted that we can't even drink it. Borewells smell like chemicals."
Activists have repeatedly raised alarms over the unhygienic conditions around Bhandewadi, but residents say no significant measures were taken. "The administration wakes up only when there is a major fire. Otherwise, nobody cares that we are living among filth," said Pradhan.
As 11 fire engines and 55 firemen battled the raging fire on Saturday, families in these settlements were left to fend for themselves, packing essential belongings in case they needed to evacuate at short notice. With no clear end in sight to either the fire or the long-standing pollution, residents fear that life near the dumping yard will continue to be a daily fight for survival.