Mumbai's Waste Disposal Problems
Mumbai's Waste Disposal Problems
The 110 hectare Deonar dumping ground rises up to seven stories high, the dumping ground was opened in 1927 and accepted approximately 1,450,000 tonnes of waste in 2006. Currently, the site has approximately 9.2 million tonnes of waste in place.
Dr Neelam Rane, vice-president of Smoke Affected Residents Forum (SARF), said, "Until now, we were agitated because garbage from all over the city was dumped but now we find even bio-medical waste is being incinerated here. This is injustice. Why is the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) not finding an alternate site to dump the city’s garbage?"
"As per an affidavit filed in the Bombay High Court, the BMC was to install a ‘Garbage Recycle Unit’ within a year. Even the police had promised to set up a chowky outside the Deonar dumping ground within a year following the high court order. Both promises were made 11 years ago and are yet to be fulfilled," she explained.
Girish Deshpande, who sold his apartment near Deonar and bought one near Ambedkar Garden at Chembur at a much higher price. "I lost my father due to lung problems caused by polluted air from the dumping ground. My mother was suffering from acute asthma while we were stayed near the dumping ground. She is feeling better since we shifted. I do not want to take any more risk. I will support this campaign till it reaches a logical end," says Deshpande.
A 11-month-old boy diagnosed as Mumbai’s first confirmed polio case of 2008 in April, in Govandi, where the winding alleys reek of the 110-hectare Deonar garbage dump next-door. In 2005, Infant Mortality Rate in Govandi was 60.8 per 1000 live births while the average for Mumbai is 35.12 per 1000. In the past year, health posts in Govandi registered 1629 TB patients, while asthma, skin diseases and malaria is common here as well.
The Solid waste department had proposed to take up the Mumbai Sewage Disposal Project (MSDP) which was to be completed in the year 2003, with
The 110 hectare Deonar dumping ground rises up to seven stories high, the dumping ground was opened in 1927 and accepted approximately 1,450,000 tonnes of waste in 2006. Currently, the site has approximately 9.2 million tonnes of waste in place.
Dr Neelam Rane, vice-president of Smoke Affected Residents Forum (SARF), said, "Until now, we were agitated because garbage from all over the city was dumped but now we find even bio-medical waste is being incinerated here. This is injustice. Why is the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) not finding an alternate site to dump the city’s garbage?"
"As per an affidavit filed in the Bombay High Court, the BMC was to install a ‘Garbage Recycle Unit’ within a year. Even the police had promised to set up a chowky outside the Deonar dumping ground within a year following the high court order. Both promises were made 11 years ago and are yet to be fulfilled," she explained.
Girish Deshpande, who sold his apartment near Deonar and bought one near Ambedkar Garden at Chembur at a much higher price. "I lost my father due to lung problems caused by polluted air from the dumping ground. My mother was suffering from acute asthma while we were stayed near the dumping ground. She is feeling better since we shifted. I do not want to take any more risk. I will support this campaign till it reaches a logical end," says Deshpande.
A 11-month-old boy diagnosed as Mumbai’s first confirmed polio case of 2008 in April, in Govandi, where the winding alleys reek of the 110-hectare Deonar garbage dump next-door. In 2005, Infant Mortality Rate in Govandi was 60.8 per 1000 live births while the average for Mumbai is 35.12 per 1000. In the past year, health posts in Govandi registered 1629 TB patients, while asthma, skin diseases and malaria is common here as well.
The Solid waste department had proposed to take up the Mumbai Sewage Disposal Project (MSDP) which was to be completed in the year 2003, with