Mumbai waste-d

Much has been said and a lot more written about the problem of waste management especially in Mumbai. But alas, little is done and whatever little is being done not all of it make it in the long run. As a part of my thesis on waste management I had collected a lot of information and statistics etc. related to the issue. But everything was put into perspective once I visited the Deonar garbage dump.
We took a BEST bus that took us right to the garbage dump. As the bus made its way thro the narrow lanes of Shivaji Nagar we contemplated on how the site will be like. And suddenly the bus took a turn; and to our left was this massive huge humongous ridiculously high pile of garbage. A hillock..Yes…around 10-15 storey tall…full of garbage-made of garbage! All those number finally made sense...110 hectares,31m high mounds of waste. Seeing is believing! We walked along the road to the longest side of the dump from Nirankari Bhavan till the B.M.C. office and what we experienced enroute is unforgettable and deeply impactful. Beyond the bus depo,.the road is not qualified to uphold its title. It is more like a patch of earth and gravel plastered with a layer (or more) of excreta..human canine, bovine and everything else that there is. After walking along this so called road we took a turn towards the road leading to the dump. And it was enough to let us know what lay in store..or so we thought. The slum dwellers warned us not to go down the road as it was too dirty and mucky, that too by their standards!! Braving the muck we decided to go ahead to our left. We went left walking along a road that ultimately had a dead end. We took some pictures and were guided by a bunch of overenthusiastic kids. But a few more pictures later a gentleman politely asked us to put down are cameras..After a second of flinching he boldly and frankly told us that the leachate channels were also their open air toilets. Embarassed at invading their privacy we put our cameras away and went back to the junction. This time we took the right turn that led to the BMC office. The road was dotted with piles of garbage at every few steps. The people were busy scavenging segregating sorting and packing all that could be salvaged. The drizzle just added to the character by creating a layer of ankle deep muck in many places. We were getting restless to go right into the garbage dump rather that walk along the periphery so we decied to take one of those makeshift bridges aver the deep leachate channels. The looked more scary than while actually using it.Some of the kids had even gone into the leachate channel to scout for plastic etc. Everything has value here. They earn around 500Rs. Per day for this garbage. Garbage to them isn’t measured by weight but by worth. 500/- worth of garbage or 5000/- worth of garbage. There is big money here in the garbage and so groups are often seen befriending the garbage truck driver and jumping onto the truck even before It enters the dump to claim the right to scavenge through it. First come first serve! But that is driven by desperation. Garbage is their work, their livelihood and so they are immune to it. Atleast to the sights, sounds and smells. They liver here, work here ,sleep here even cook and eat here. They rummage through the entire city`s waste barehanded and barefooted. They are exposed to such hazardous objects that have claimed many a lives. Cuts and bruises due to blade, injections glass shards are common place. Also there are the brawls over ownership to scavenge, injuries while running and jumping towards the garbage truck etc .Some have died of exposure to toxic chemicals and gases etc. Officially very few people have the right to segregate this garbage but almost triple the no. of people are involved unofficially.
It seemed like a godforsaken place. And every person who saw us there would only advice us to go back. Or choose a better’scenic’ route. The route was such because no one is supposed to be here in the first place.We finally made our way to the BMC office through the by lanes of the slum as the service road was submerged with muck deeper than our ankles.SWD had collapsed in places leaving gaping holes in the road. As we reached the office staffer almost had an attack on knowing that we just walked along that road. He directed us to the officer saying we should never use that road again as it is too risky and more so for two chicks like us. After a successful meeting with the officer in charge we came out feeling victorious and trying to sink in the events of the past hour. And the feeling was marvelous. We finally did it. If you have to clean the dirt you have to get your hands dirty!
So looking forward to more such visits after the official permission is granted and hoping to hitch a ride on one of the garbage trucks and go right into the heart of the dump. The mission has just begun and it’s a long long way to go with many more entertaining encounters such as this!