Wishing you a very happy and prosperous Diwali

Ghazipur landfill: a ticking bomb

Rohit Shishodia 

The two deaths recently due to collapse of major portions of Delhi’s Ghazipur landfill on passerby has instilled major fear among the residents of Ghazipur dairy farm and nearby colonies. The landfill, which has already caused major damage to the health of the residents, has now become a nightmare for the residents. They are living in great fear now.

The residents have urged government and civic agencies to urgently remove the landfill from Ghazipur so that more damage can be averted.

The resident inform that this landfill has caused diseases including cancer, respiratory diseases such as TB and asthma and even skin problems due to its filth, foul stink and smoke over the last 30 years. The landfill gives out methane gas and other chemicals which results in major fires and blasts at the dumping site.

The residents complain that the groundwater has also been polluted due to the landfill. The consumption of this polluted groundwater has resulted in rampant gastric ailments among residents. The current Delhi government has neglected this area. There is no government clinic here.

“Why there is no Mohalla clinic in the Ghazipur dairy farm. Are we not humans? There is no government facility in the entire area where we can consult the doctors. Even the private doctors are just for name's sake,” rued the residents. The two small clinics were found closed when this correspondent went through the Ghazipur farm.

Sanjeev, a resident of Ghazipur dairy farm, said that his wife is pregnant and doctors have instructed him to shift his wife somewhere else from Ghazipur as there could be major health complications to the child and his mother. “I have shifted my wife to her parental home as doctors have strictly warned against her staying in Ghazipur,” added Sanjeev.

He informed that Ghazipur is also a harmful place for newborns and kids. He said that two deaths due to fall of a portion of the landfill has instilled more fear among residents. “Those who have money are migrating from here to other areas of Delhi and those who do not have are forced to live here. They are left with no option but to inhale the polluted air caused by landfill and invite more diseases,” explained Sanjeev.

Mohit, a young student said that his own grandfather has died of cancer and people are not marrying their daughter into the Ghazipur area. The landfill has become the identity of this area. Mohit said there is no mohalla clinic in this area which hurts most. “It feels that we are not living in Delhi,” added Mohit.

Waste segregation is just not there

Rohit Shishodia 

The lack of segregation of waste has been a matter of concern for a long time in metropolitan cities. If waste is not segregated, it keeps piling up on roads and garbage collection centers. Non-segregation and non-collection badly impacts the health of citizens due to the foul smell emanating from it.

Delhi-NCR has been badly affected by garbage dumping. The dumping yards generally known as landfills pose risk of serious health ailments such as respiratory diseases and gastric problems.

But presently there seems to be no solution as there is no implementation of waste segregation either in housing societies or in government offices. Generally people are not aware about waste segregation. The waste segregation drive was launched in June 2017 by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) and East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC).

The motive of the project was to make people aware about biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste which should be put in different colored dust bins. It has been more than three months since the project was launched but municipal and Delhi government-run institutes are themselves not implementing the initiative, not to speak of the general public.

Dr Gaynesh Gupta, Senior Medical Officer of Swami Daya Nand (SDN) Hospital, East Delhi, informed that SDN hospital itself is yet to fully implement the biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste segregation initiative. Dr Gupta asserted that the hospital will fully implement the important initiative in coming months.

What is more surprising is that EDMC’s own headquarter which launched the project is not implementing biodegradable and non-biodegradable wasdte segregation initiative? The health official deputed there informed that there is no such initiative being implemented in EDMC headquarters.

General public is also now aware about such a move. An elderly woman, residing in Delhi’s Moujpur colony, North-East Delhi, informed that she never heard about segregating biodegradable waste.

Kusum Tomar, Municipal Councilor, Babarpur, East Delhi, informed that she learnt about the usage of different colored dustbins for segregation of waste but that is not being implemented in her area. She informed that she is not aware about any such drive of waste segregation being launched.

It is not just East Delhi but residents of South Delhi are also not aware about any waste segregation. Mr Mahendra Singh living in Sangam Vihar says  the waste is not lifted from their houses not to speak of waste segregation.

Mr Pradeep Khandelwal, Chief Engineer, Dams, EDMC, told DTMT that waste segregation drive is under progress. He informed that the people are being made aware about waste segregation in Preet Vihar. Later the corporation's drive will be launched in Mayur Vihar’s all phases.

Prevention better than cure for garbage in the cities

Dr. Parinita Kaur, Consultant, Internal Medicine

The most common sight in any large city, after the massive crowds, is the heaps of garbage lying on roadsides. It often gets the drains blocked and hence during rainy seasons, we see water logging all around. Apart from this, improper disposal of garbage on streets can result in breeding of mosquitoes, flies and other insects, leading to various vector borne diseases.

India produces about 1.5 lakh tonnes of waste everyday, not too much compared to global levels. What makes it hazardous is the fact that we are unable to segregate kitchen and recyclable waste. There is absence of marked garbage bins on streets. There is little mass education and awareness of benefits of cleanliness. There is no implementation of strict laws to deal with defaulters.

In India, most states’ municipalities are just dumping garbage in landfills, which are themselves almost always unscientifically developed and used in most careless manner.

Speaking to Drug Today Medical Times (DTMT), Dr Arun Sharma, Professor, Community Medicine, University College of Medical Sciences, Delhi, said, “The by-product of this untreated mess is pollution, groundwater pollution as well as air pollution. One fifth of India’s methane generation is just because of garbage.”

He said, “It is well recognized that untreated garbage gathers water which breeds dengue, chikungunia and other disease causing mosquitoes. Further, poisonous gases leaking from these garbage hills also cause breathing problems.”

Dr. Parinita Kaur, Consultant, Internal Medicine, Aakash Healthcare, says “Garbage is the term used for rubbish or waste, especially domestic refuse. The biggest problem that India faces is the non segregation of waste, despite regulations from the Government regarding proper waste disposal. Ideally, the kitchen waste and the recyclable waste should be disposed in separate bags or containers for effective waste handling and recycling. But this is not what is being followed.

She further said, “Apart from this, the waste from small scale Industries is also dumped on roadsides, open grounds or landfills. This can contain hazardous substances which can lead to contamination of soil and groundwater, as well as produce poisonous inhalational gases. The contaminated soil becomes infertile for vegetation to grow. On the other hand, the humans get exposed to contaminated groundwater by ingestion of plant or animal products exposed to such water. Such water is also unfit for drinking and bathing purposes. Also, it poses risk to the flora and fauna of the surroundings.”

Ashish Jain, the founder of Indian Pollution Control Association (IPCA) has  a mission of improving standards of living in India with a focus on solid waste management and rainwater harvesting. With as many as 100,000 homes sending garbage to IPCA for vermi-composting, and a daily growing roster of costumers, Jain’s creepy crawly subjects are always working over time.

In a sidelines of a recently held Air-o-Thon conference in New Delhi, he told DTMT, “50% of the generated garbage is fit for composting and 30% is recyclable; which means that only 20% should reach the landfill. Building new landfills are not the solution. Apart from the fact that they are dangerous and dumping garbage like in Ghazipur landfill site causes the leaching of dangerous chemicals into the soil, it would be unfair to citizens of that neighbourhood to export the city’s garbage to their locality.”

He argues, “Commitment and discipline from both the municipal corporations and the residents is needed to successfully implement segregation of waste at source to reduce the amount of garbage that arrives at landfills.”

He said, “What we always fail in doing, though, is to segregate garbage at our home between biodegradable and non biodegradable. We don’t throw garbage in designated spots or in designated bins, and we never say no to polythene bags. We also barely bat an eyelid before throwing fruits peel, or plastic bags on sides of roads, oblivious of the fact that these all contribute to the foul odour and unpleasant sight that we so hate.”

More than a year after the notification of the much-delayed Solid Waste Management Rules, cities and towns are in no position to comply with its stipulations, beginning with the segregation of different kinds of waste at source and their scientific processing.

Prashant Gargava, additional director, Central Pollution Control Board said there is a need for technical capacity-building for which state boards need training and which the pollution control board is eager to arrange.

On the lacunae the state boards are facing in implementing waste management rules, Gargava highlighted the need to meet manpower and fund requirements and technical capabilities.

"These are some of the shortcomings and we will resolve them. New rules have already come and in order to implement them, we need to educate the people," Gargava said.

We have decided we will identify the training needs of the states and organise a specific programme through our regional offices around the country," Gargava said.

Gargava further said, "We were told that many states have done a lot of work in terms of plastic waste management. A request was made to all the states to share their good practices with other states so they can follow the project."

He said a series of workshops will be organised to educate and make people aware of the new rules of waste management, mandates and responsibilities.

A new paradigm is needed, in which bulk waste generators take the lead and city managers show demonstrable change in the way it is processed.

Half-hearted efforts have been made to segregate waste at source and to create waste to energy plants within all landfills. There has been no real change in the way that many states including Delhi, Haryana and Punjab deal with the problem of waste management.

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