After a bad day at work, Manorama Begum can hardly keep herself from
vomiting. After a good day, she is merely disinclined to eat for a few hours,
until the stench has receded from her nostrils and her fingernails are scrubbed
cleanAs Begum began to root through refuse, searching for bottles, old light
bulbs, and anything else that might be recyclable, someone punched the 65-
year-old in the back of the head. She collapsed. Her attacker continued to
punch and kick her..Again eighteen-year-old Naina, a rag-picker collects waste
for a living.
The show begins at night. After the sun is swallowed by the smog and neon
lights wash the city in yellow, Rahul and his gang emerge from under the
flyover. They all look similar - grubby feet, frayed rags, scarred faces, red eyes
and brassy hair. They are all under 11. Walking with the swagger of his
favourite filmstar, the puny urchin produces a cigarette from his pocket, lights
it and blows the smoke into the faces of six other kids who beg for a drag. But
Rahul is high: one moment he is Dabangg; another, he is Romeo the kutta.
Then he offers the fag to his buddies, but at a price. He punches one, yanks
out Rs 5 from another's pocket, and then grabs Guddi, the only girl in the pack.
She screams and giggles as he pulls her towards a dark corner. Then a boy
shouts police' and the group vanishes into the dark garbage dump they call
home.
vomiting. After a good day, she is merely disinclined to eat for a few hours,
until the stench has receded from her nostrils and her fingernails are scrubbed
cleanAs Begum began to root through refuse, searching for bottles, old light
bulbs, and anything else that might be recyclable, someone punched the 65-
year-old in the back of the head. She collapsed. Her attacker continued to
punch and kick her..Again eighteen-year-old Naina, a rag-picker collects waste
for a living.
The show begins at night. After the sun is swallowed by the smog and neon
lights wash the city in yellow, Rahul and his gang emerge from under the
flyover. They all look similar - grubby feet, frayed rags, scarred faces, red eyes
and brassy hair. They are all under 11. Walking with the swagger of his
favourite filmstar, the puny urchin produces a cigarette from his pocket, lights
it and blows the smoke into the faces of six other kids who beg for a drag. But
Rahul is high: one moment he is Dabangg; another, he is Romeo the kutta.
Then he offers the fag to his buddies, but at a price. He punches one, yanks
out Rs 5 from another's pocket, and then grabs Guddi, the only girl in the pack.
She screams and giggles as he pulls her towards a dark corner. Then a boy
shouts police' and the group vanishes into the dark garbage dump they call
home.
There are some 300 families in the area who do the same to make ends meet,
wearing T-shirts with the line "Your waste is our business," .Looking after
rubbish, anywhere in the world, is not dignifiedThe very fact that we should
acknowledge that we need to look after their health is a tremendous
acknowledgement of their dignity.There are the hard-up families, who save
their own plastic milk cartons to sell to passing dealers for a few extra rupees
to supplement the household budget.
wearing T-shirts with the line "Your waste is our business," .Looking after
rubbish, anywhere in the world, is not dignifiedThe very fact that we should
acknowledge that we need to look after their health is a tremendous
acknowledgement of their dignity.There are the hard-up families, who save
their own plastic milk cartons to sell to passing dealers for a few extra rupees
to supplement the household budget.
In Mumbai, garbage dumping grounds are taking their toll on residents who
live close by. A survey conducted by the NGO Nirmaya Health Foundation has
found that close to 70 per cent of nearly 1,400 children, near the dumping
ground, suffer from respiratory tract infection and chronic skin diseases. A
majority of those affected, 882 rag- pickers, are directly exposed to the toxic
waste.a beautiful place, but because of dumping, has become dirty and
unhygienic. The persistent bad odour has led to various health problems such
as suffocation. The system here is informal yet highly organized. Its capacity
to recycle plastics and paper is efficient beyond the dreams of even
progressive, recycling nations in the West.
Many here say that while the current waste disposal system might provide the
1050,000-some ragpickers with a meagre livelihood.If these ragpickers are
squeezed out, we'll see them cutting back on what they eat, they'll stop
feeding their children milk, and we'll see more women entering the sex trade.
Is this progress?
1050,000-some ragpickers with a meagre livelihood.If these ragpickers are
squeezed out, we'll see them cutting back on what they eat, they'll stop
feeding their children milk, and we'll see more women entering the sex trade.
Is this progress?
