Landfill site a grave health risk for Ghazipur residents

New Delhi: Resident of a slum in east Delhi’s Ghazipur 50-year-old Ishwar Dayal suffers from asthma while his wife suffers from chronic coughing. Their slum adjoins the Ghazipur landfill site where solid waste is dumped every day by civic agencies.

Standing 50 metres above the ground, the landfill site is not just an eyesore but extremely hazardous to human health, experts say.

“I have been living here for the past 27 years and this site has become worse. Throughout the year, it is a constant source of not only respiratory problems but diseases like dengue, malaria and typhoid as well. We, the slum dwellers, have learnt to survive with both the smoke and the stench,” Mr Dayal said.

Rana Pratap, who has been running a dhaba near the landfill site since its commission in 1984, said, “Meri rozi roti ka sawaal hai… isliye main yahan se kahi nahi ja sakta (It’s a matter of my livelihood, so I have nowhere else to go).”

Experts claim that people living in shanties and high-rises around the landfill are at potential risk of a variety of health hazards.

“The greater threat of genes getting affected is always there. Children can be born with malnourished bodies, low immunity and deformity,” said Dr Vivek Pal Singh, consultant, Internal Medicine, BLK Super Speciality Hospital.

Head of the department of respiratory allergy and applied immunology of Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute Dr Rajkumar said the toxic fumes from these landfill sites affected not only the respiratory organs but the whole body.