That is what the life expectancy of this area is, where a major portion of Mumbai’s garbage is dumped, is according to the Human Development Report for Mumbai that was last compiled in 2009.
Most people living in the cramped slums of this area in Mumbai’s North East ward will not live beyond 39. That is what the life expectancy of this area is, where a major portion of Mumbai’s garbage is dumped, is according to the Human Development Report for Mumbai that was last compiled in 2009.
The Deonar garbage dumpyard takes up around 132 acres of land here and according to an estimate around 70% of the residents depend on it to make a living. Most children suffer from severe malnutrition and education is a distant dream. It is a ward that comes last in every development parameter among the 24 wards in the city. Yet despite 75% of the budget allotted to the development projects of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) lying unused, the money did not make its way to Deonar.
No school, one dispensary for 6 lakh people
There is one dispensary for a population of almost 6 lakh people and no BMC run school that teaches beyond class seven. So the youth fall back on the garbage, selling scraps of metals of plastics and making a few hundred rupees on good days. In their spare time they are seen openly seen doing drugs, sitting in groups at the periphery of the dumpyard.
There is no boundary wall around the Deonar dumping ground at most places and an estimated 70% of the locals depend on the dumpyard for their livelihood. (Image credits: Disha Shetty, iamin.in)
‘Woke up choking’
Mumbai woke up to the plight of those living in the shadows of its garbage only when the fire last week threw a blanket of smog across the city. For those at Deonar the days that followed were nothing short of a nightmare.
"I couldn't breathe. Our entire home was covered in smoke. I felt like someone was choking me," narrates Reshma Khatun, sitting outside her home at Sanjay Nagar.Reshma Khatun, sitting outside her home at Sanjay Nagar.
What's worse is that affordable healthcare too is not within reach. So what did they do them plumes of smoke descended on their home? "We went to the local doctor. I don't remember his name but he is clinic is close to this place," says Nazira, Reshma’s neighbour.
Roshni, 8, carrying her malnourished eight-month-old brother as another sibling of hers peeks from behind. (Image credits: Disha Shetty, iamin.in)
Doctors with fake degrees flourish
Most of the local doctors in the area are Ayurvedic or Unani doctors. The nearest government hospital is the Rajawadi Hospital in Sion but reaching the hospital takes Rs 50 in an auto rickshaw and so the locals turn to doctors with dubious degrees.
Pushpa Adhikari is a paraprofessional working for the NGO Apnalaya. She has been working in the area for 22 years now and says, “Most of the children here suffer from malnutrition. Family sizes are large and the children are left to play around the dumpyard as their parents scourge the garbage for items that can be reused or recycled.”
A case in point was 8-year-old Roshni. She was babysitting her four-year-old brother, 2-year-old sister and another eight month old baby boy bawling on the floor at their tin hut in Sanjay Nagar. When asked why the baby was crying, she said, “Bhuk se ro raha hai” (He is crying because he is hungry). It was 1 pm in the afternoon and her parents were at the garbage dumpyard. With no new garbage vehicles coming inside the dumpyard for the past 10 days following the fire, there was no food to put on the table.
Basic necessities denied
Dr Arun Kumar, CEO, Apnalaya explains, “The everyday life crisis in the area is so severe that people do not have the time to think ahead. We need to see the relationship between people's livelihood and environment and on that front a lot remains to be done." When asked about what is the bare minimum that the area needs, he added, “Health is connected to the environment so we need more dispensaries in the area. Greater attention has to be paid to the water and sanitation as well as creating alternate livelihood.”
For more hyperlocal stories, visit iamin.in.
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