NEW DELHI, March 20 -- The Brahmapuram dump yard fire that engulfed the Kochi city in Kerala for over a week since March 2 has been successfully put off. A major tragedy has been averted. Well, the company which was awarded the contract for treating the municipal waste reportedly did not fulfil its obligations. With regard to what went wrong, relevant details are expected after various agencies concerned complete their probes and submit their reports. Also, an expert team is to provide detailed recommendations on preventing such incidents besides making waste management scientific and effective.

Kochi is not the first instance of garbage dump fires affecting the health of citizens. Delhi's Ghazipur landfill site (covers 70 acres) which h...