Delhi's Urban Poor Continues To Suffer From Toxic Water Of Yamuna And Harmful Gas From Landfills

Nisha, a 25-year-old woman living in Yamuna Khadar, East Delhi, is washing her kids’ clothes by the riverside. Housed바카라 웹사이트a few meters away from the Yamuna river, she often uses its water to carry out her domestic chores.바카라 웹사이트"The water is less dirty than before, thanks to the monsoon,"바카라 웹사이트she says. Nisha has always lived in Yamuna Khadar, and earns 200 rupees a day, as a laundry worker. Her daily life is marked by mosquito bites and diarrhoea. And she is one among several people whose lives are ruled by diseases due to toxic emancipation from the river water.바카라 웹사이트바카라 웹사이트

"Yamuna is a damned river. Living near the river can cause many diseases due to toxic emanations of methane for instance," explains Depinder Kapur, director of the water program at the Center for Science and Environment. "Only 50 per cent바카라 웹사이트of the Delhi water is being treated. The rest, a mix of chemical waste and wastewater, is thrown in the Yamuna. There is an assumption that pollution is caused by people living in slums around the river. This is not true. Pollution is happening because of untreated sewage and industrial causes," she adds.바카라 웹사이트바카라 웹사이트

Bhavita, 30, owns a little shop in Yamuna Khadar. She has been living in the slum for the past 15 years. "I suffer from a constant cold and bad cough because of air pollution," she says between two coughing fits. The slum is located under a bridge, where thousands of cars are driven every day.바카라 웹사이트바카라 웹사이트

Concerning water supply, people from Yamuna Khadar get free drinking water every week, brought by trucks from the Delhi municipality. "We also receive some occasional help from NGOs,"바카라 웹사이트adds Zawid Ali, 67, a slum resident. "We experience some itching and skin diseases. Some government doctors come and visit from time to time,"바카라 웹사이트he adds.

But according to the slum occupants, this is not enough바카라 웹사이트and they demand free and good quality medical care. Speaking with 바카라, they said that they often self-diagnose and buy their medication in pharmacies, to save time and money.바카라 웹사이트바카라 웹사이트

Polluted water and toxic gas바카라 웹사이트

About twenty kilometres from there, in North Delhi, stands a brown and shapeless mass ---바카라 웹사이트a바카라 웹사이트60-meter-high mountain of waste: Bhalswa. According to Rajender Kumar Ved, an entrepreneur in scrap materials working in Bhalswa, 10,000 families live around the landfill site. Waste workers are busy on the mountain of waste, looking for glass, metal, and plastic. With their backs bent, and their noses in the garbage, they work without protection and are exposed to malaria, tetanus, skin diseases, and attacks from scabies dogs.바카라 웹사이트바카라 웹사이트

"Waste pickers also get sick because of the groundwater they use for domestic purposes," says Shashi Bhusan, founder of All India Kabari Mazdoor Mahasangh. "During the summer, we are exposed to mosquitoes. I have already been ill, the atmosphere made me sick. I went to a private clinic and paid 2,000 rupees to receive healthcare. I had no choice. Medical care in public hospitals is not good and takes too long," says Mazid, a 40 years old waste-picker. While Mazid is explaining his working conditions, toxic smoke emanates from the landfill. Last April, a massive fire broke out at Bhalswa, caused by methane generation.바카라 웹사이트바카라 웹사이트

According to a Chintan report, waste pickers’ life expectancy is around 39 years바카라 웹사이트and the most common diseases the바카라 웹사이트urban poor experience are fever, cough, skin disease, asthma and tuberculosis. This also concerns children living in landfill. Even though most of them receive an education thanks to NGOs and public schools, they are often left to their own devices after school, and at best play in the dump, at worst help their parents segregate the waste.바카라 웹사이트바카라 웹사이트

Open defecation바카라 웹사이트

Open defecation is also a major health issue. In Yamuna Khadar, there are no toilets available, and people have to walk several hundred meters to relieve themselves. "It is unsafe for women to defecate in the open," says Reena, a 35 years old woman living in Yamuna Khadar. "Children repeatedly fall ill because of the filth around and mosquitoes,"바카라 웹사이트she says.

In October 2019, the Narendra Modi government declared the country open-defecation-free. But despite this statement, many states and cities in India still face some open-air defecation, due to a lack of toilets.바카라 웹사이트바카라 웹사이트

According to some 2015 numbers, Bhalswa has five toilet complexes, and the slum does not have piped drinking water, like Yamuna Khadar. It is the local municipal tankers that supply drinking water to the residents. According to the 2021 National Family Health Survey, while 83 per cent바카라 웹사이트of households have access to a toilet facility in India, 19 per cent practice open defecation. Lack of sanitation and hygiene causes various diseases, such as diarrhoea, typhoid, cholera, hepatitis, polio, trachoma and others.바카라 웹사이트바카라 웹사이트