Moshi Landfill Collapses After Heavy Rains

On July 8, the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation's environment department reported that heavy rainfall and accumulated methane gas pressure led to a significant disaster at the Moshi landfill. Between July 5 and July 7, the city experienced over 650mm of rainfall.

This intense precipitation allowed large volumes of rainwater to infiltrate the waste mound, increasing the internal pressure of gases, particularly methane. The combined effect of this pressure and the continuous rain triggered a massive slide of the garbage mound, which was approximately 25-30 meters high.

The affected sanitary landfill cell, in operation since 2014-15, held an estimated 1 to 1.2 million cubic meters of waste across an 81-acre site. Despite standard engineering practices and safety protocols, including layered waste deposition and soil cover, the incident occurred rapidly.

Biomining of the garbage mound was part of a planned landfill remediation project but is scheduled to commence after the monsoon season, as the process requires dry waste for effective treatment.