India, March 5 -- The Air Quality Index (AQI) touched a hazardous 340 along the Mula-Mutha riverbed at Loni Kalbhor, days after a massive fire broke out at an illegal garbage dumping site, prompting students of MIT ADT University to stage a protest on campus on Wednesday.

The fire started on February 26 when heaps of untreated waste dumped along the riverbed caught fire. Firefighting efforts continued for nearly five days before the blaze was brought under control on March 2. However, smoke has continued to rise intermittently from the debris.

According to officials of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), the reading was recorded during an inspection of the fire-hit site. Thick smoke and the stench of decomposing waste have l...