For most Mumbaikars, a Saturday morning spent at home is a privilege. This Saturday, however, staying indoors was a precaution. Thick smog engulfed various several parts of the city for the third day on the trot in the wake of a fire that broke out on Thursday morning at the Deonar dumping ground in north-east Mumbai.
On Saturday afternoon, the city’s municipal corporation was still trying to put out the blaze. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation also ordered the closure of 74 schools in the vicinity of the dumping ground, with a municipal official quoted as saying that people in the area were complaining about a foul smell because of the burning garbage.
Apprehensive Mumbai citizens took to social media, imploring politicians and municipal authorities to move with speed.
Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis tweeted that he was on the job, while Shiv Sena youth wing chief Aaditya Thackeray and BJP MP Poonam Mahajan also took to Twitter to placate worried citizens.
Health concerns were uppermost on most people’s minds as some social media users urged fellow Mumbaikars not to venture out, while others worried about the long-term consequences and "going the Delhi way" in terms of alarming pollution levels. Many social media users complained about suffering prolonged headaches because of the smog.
People also tweeted out smog-covered views from their homes. The city's landmark Bandra-Worli Sea Link was not visible for much of the morning.
NASA satellite images, obtained by NDTV, appeared to show the progression of the smoke cloud since the fire broke on Thursday morning, indicating its spread from south Mumbai to the Arabian Sea.
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