Once upon a time pigeons worked as messengers to carry messages .The trend of carrying the message through pigeons has stopped but the legacy of pigeon flying still continues in Old Delhi ..Aqsa Anjum has a story.
Report: Aqsa Anjum
Photo:Gargi Nim
In the recent years,
( Manufacturer Association of IT Industry ) and GTZ (German Technical Cooperation) . In 2007, four lakh tones of E-waste came annually to
The dangers to Environment and health
Mohd.Shakeel, owner of spare parts shop at Turkman Gate, after taking out all the important parts, throws the leftover in the garbage. This is what he does everytime to dispose the remains of air conditioners, fridge, computers ,motors engines and other electronic goods. This is done by most of the spare parts shops in Turkman Gate area of Old Delhi .Burning leftover wires is a common practice to take out the metal and the leftover is dumped in the garbage or in the drains ।
The leftover flows through drains to ulimately go into the sea or rivers. " The effect will be felt by both humans and environment as acid bath and burning of wire are the common practice used by these people in the recovery of metal. This affects water bodies, agricultural land and the pollutants enter the food ultimately affecting human beings," asserts Preeti. About 95 percent of all e-waste in
Professor Khalid Iftekar of Chemistry Department in Jamia Milia Islamia warns about the chemicals used in these electronic wastes as they may contain hydrocarbons that are hazardous for health.“Lead ,mercury, cadmium dioxide are the components which are used in electronic items until and unless cautiously used they can be proved fatal to the
Dr Sanjay Gupta ,Senior Surgeon at ENT in Daryaganj warns ,“ Coming in contact with the fumes of hazardous chemicals can prove fatal in the long run . Respiratory diseases, itching of eyes etc are some common problems which people handling such waste generally face।"
Dr Parvez Akhtar who owns a private clinic at Seelampur , another area surrounded by scrap dealers, agrees that he come across a number of patients who either has respiratory problem or some allergies of skin । ''Most of the kabadiwalas who turn up to me usually suffer from respiratory diseases, cough, or allergies like fungal infection, lung infection, fungal election of skin etc.”
“Lead can damage nervous systems, blood systems, and kidneys in humans. Cadmium can cause various type of cancer in the long run too. Mercury can adversely affect and can damage organs." he adds.
Who is responsible for the leftover?
World is slowly realizing the hazards of the e-waste .Though Basel Convention looked into the control of hazardious waste but the super power USA has not signed it . Indian Supreme Court banned the import of hazardous waste in 1997but because lack of any stringent law the trade is still going on.
Shockingly no law exist and work for the disposal of E-waste . Krishan Lala, sanitation superintendent at MCD City Zone when asked about any special provision for the disposal of E- waste said that there is no separate body to pick up this waste and was clueless about its disposal. An MCD official on the bases of anonymity claims that garbage MCD picks before disposing never get segregated so there are 90% chances of those chemical infecting the soil and the rag pickers who would be picking them up.
One cannot avoid coming in contact with these chemicals but every possible precaution should be taken to avoid the harmful effects. Providing some precautionary measures professor Khalid adds, “ While working on spare parts of electronic goods wearing of mask and glows is a must .”
But this is not a case practically followed. Mohd. Shakeel says casually, “There is no time to think about the health hazards. I am working on these for 8 years now"
By Aqsa Anjum and Sumiran Preet Kaur
Photo: Jaishree
“The pain is unbearable once it starts”, says Nuzhat Begum, a young teacher in Kucha Nahar Khan’s MCD school in Old Delhi who has been suffering from migraine for last ten years। “I ignored it initially but after some time it became unbearable. Soon I was under medication. Though I still get those pangs, but it is not that unbearable.”
Areeba Saeed, a student of
“Refusing to recognize the symptoms is what leads to the problem,” points out Dr. Ajay Rohatgi , an MBBS doctor who owns a private clinic in Daryaganj. “It is a lifestyle disease that can affect anyone. Young generation of today are more prone to it due to their tedious lifestyles, stress and competition,” he adds . “Common triggers of migraine include heat, stress, and lack of sleep or food. But nowadays emotional changes in behavior can also influence the functioning of the brain stem. Migraine is also seen as a family tendency in few cases।”
Recognize the symptoms
The International Headache Society has come up with symptoms of migraine. These include headaches which usually last for between 4 and 72 hours (untreated). The patients will also have at least two of these symptoms:
-one-sided pain
-severe pain
-moderate to severe pain that interrupts your normal life
made worse by physical activity
DR. Parvez Akhtar, a physician who owns a private clinic in Yamuna Vihar says , “
A migraine attack is a chain reaction between nerves due to inflammation of certain nerves that can trouble a person to great extent। The cause of migraine has to do with a breakdown of communication in body with breakdown in communication between nerves.”
Look for Cure
One should not avoid migraine as a mere headache .It should be prevented before it worsens. According to Dr Rohatgi, “It can be cured by avoiding certain food and drinks which have the ability to trigger migraine in a person. Take light food especially bland food . Take lots of water. Avoid hard drinks and soft drinks. Meditation and exercise are good as they calm down the nerves. It is also advisable to sleep in dark room and take adequate rest. No worry is worth your peace of mind.”
Photo : Gargi
By
Aqsa Anjum
Photo:Babu
Delhi-based Kiran Jain, a 49-year-old, has been struggling to meet her daily needs. Widowed at an early age, Jain is a single mother of a mentally challenged child. Instead for taking up typical jobs ‘meant’ for a woman, she decided to learn to drive auto rickshaw from Sunita Choudhary, the first woman auto driver in Delhi. Twice everyday, once in the morning and once in the evening, Choudhary conducts free auto driving lessons for interested women.
“I need to pay house rent of Rs 2,500. There is no one to generate income at home. I think if I learn this skill then at least I would be able to pay the rent and also to take care of my child,” said Jain.
Like Jain, Archana Kashyap too participates at Choudhary’s training sessions. Kashyap’s husband left her two years back. With no decent means of livelihood, she has decided to become an auto driver.
When asked the reason for the choice of the profession, Kashyap retorts, “If women can become prime minister and president in India then why can’t a woman be an auto driver?!” She claims to be a dedicated learner and seems excited to get her driver’s license.
In a city where women often find it difficult to travel due to harassing auto drivers, presence of female drivers may come as a relief.
“Nowadays autowalla harass women and charge more. When I start driving, I will charge through metre and will take special care for my female passengers,” says Kashyap.
Shruti Yadav, a 22-old-old student, had an opportunity to ride on Sunita Choudhary’s auto. “First of all, I was amazed to find a female auto driver. But then I was really happy to note that women at grassroots level are taking up such jobs. This is true women empowerment,” exclaims Yadav.
Sunita Choudhary, the woman behind all this is quite confident about her venture. With the upcoming Commonwealth Games, she feels women auto drivers will be more in demand. “Woman drivers would be more polite and welcoming to the guests during the Games,” she adds.
Her own story has been that of an inspiration for hundreds of deprived women in the city. She came to Delhi in 1992 after undergoing horrific domestic trauma. In 2001, she enrolled with the Institute of Driving, Training and Research (IDTR) to become the first woman auto rickshaw driver in the city.
All eyes would be on the road to see whether Choudhary’s initiative bore fruits.
Since heart loves, it should also be taken care of. In this busy world and with changing lifestyles, it seems that somewhere we have been neglecting our heart.
Aqsa Anjum finds out why heart care is important and the various ways for keeping our heart healthy .
Photo: Jaishree
But are all these precautions enough to ensure the people of their safety? “Our business has gone down by nearly 50%. People are no more coming here,” says Ashwini Katpalia, owner of snack corner, Depauls at Janpath. “By turning the dustbins, how can how can you ensure the safety of your citizens. The city will get even dirtier. I mean will the bombers come back and put the bombs in the dustbins again? There is so much crowd that it is difficult to actually keep a track of all such activities. This time it was dustbins, next time it can be anything else.”Jai Prakash, a beverage seller outside Central Park, says that immediately after the blast all were startled. “After I heard a huge thump I could not understand anything. The thump shook me. After a few seconds later people stared coming out of the Central Park in huge numbers. There was black smoke coming. By that time we knew it was a blast. I could see people lying on the ground in the park.”
Parshuram, a chaatwala at Janpath recalls that there was panic. “When people came to know that serial blasts were taking place in CP, everybody started running here and there. Everybody shut their shops and went home. There was police all around. Janpath hasn’t seen as much crowd as we used to see before the blasts.”
The never die attitude
So does that mean it’s a no-no to CP for shoppers? “Everybody gets scared initially. But people move on. There’s so much more to Connaught Place than just shopping. Clothes at cheap prices, restaurants, window shopping …No one can resist Connaught Place,” says Neelam Juneja , a doctor and a regular visitor to CP.
For Pia, a tourist from China, there is no reason to be afraid. “We all have to die, if not this way than some other way. We have to move on.”
According to Katpalia of Depauls it’s just a matter of time. “People have short memories. They will forget it and move on .We were lucky enough to escape this time. We all pray that we do not have to face it again. It is nothing less than a nightmare. Police cannot ensure everything with so much population in the city. It is us who have to keep our eyes and ears open. ”
Women today are capable of doing everything, then why not auto driving? Meet Sunita Chaudhary, the first women auto driver in Delhi, who loves her profession and wants to be an auto driver in her next life also. Aqsa Anjum traced some important aspect of her life...
Poly bags are easy to carry, light weight, convenient for storing vegetables and meat. But the health hazards they cause are tremendous. Aqsa Anjum finds out some of its perils to human health.
Photo:Jaishree
Fresh meat bought from the market can slowly turn into poison. How? The polythene bags that you use to store your eatables can be poisonous. Are you ready to bargain your health for a plastic bag?
Most of us are doing that. Rani Bhagel, a housewife, uses black plastic bags to store meat in refrigerator. “It is easy to store meat in plastic bags rather than using any other container,” she says.
But this practice can be hazardous. Doctor Ajay Rohatgi warns: “The chemicals with which poly bags are manufactured can easily seep into the food stored in them and then into our body.” He says the most dangerous ones are the recycled poly bags, particularly the black and gray colored ones. Also, in some bags the lead content is very high. In the long run this can damage our body system, he adds.
The hazards
“Plastic bags are hazardous as they are non- degradable. When they are burnt, they produce carbon monoxide and other gases which in the long run will affect the ozone layer and will pollute the environment,” says Prof. Sharif Ahmed, Head of Chemistry Department in Jamia Milia Islamia, New Delhi.
Tahir Noor, a researcher from Voluntary Health Associations of Delhi, says: “In slum areas the biggest pollution creators are the poly bags. They flood drains which leads to water born diseases. Stray cattle feed on huge garbage waste with poly bags and often die.”
Professor Sharif warns that sometimes recycled poly bags contain dangerous chemicals which when mixed with soil could destroy the composition of soil.
Issue of concern
Pinki Singh, a school teacher in Bulbulikhana, a government school near Turkman Gate, is aware of the issue but says that there is no other viable option available in place of plastic bags. She is more concerned about the milk which is mostly available in poly bags. She blames shopkeepers for providing the food items in poly bags.
On the other hand, shopkeepers put the blame on customers. They say that they are aware of the menace but the customers demand it and there is no other alternative available.
The law side of it
The steps to halt the use and manufacturing of plastic bags have already been taken in Himachal Pradesh, Goa, Maharashtra, Sikkim, Meghalaya and Tamil Nadu. “The High Court order asking Delhi government to ban the use of plastic bags comes as a welcome move,” says Prof. Sharif Ahmed.
Though the High Court has ordered a ban on the use of plastic bags it seems the application is there on paper only.
Tahir Noor is skeptical about the ban. “The government is earning huge manufacturing aids from the manufacturers of plastic. That is why they might not want to apply it,” he reasons.
So, it is not that people are unaware. What they want is an alternative option. As Pinki Singh says, “I am a concerned citizen but unless I am provided with an alternative I will keep using it .The plastic bags are more strong and durable than paper bags.” So in spite of the health hazards, plastic bags are here to stay for the time being.
Dangers of polybags
*Polybags being non biodegradable can
effect soil composition
*Drain clogging by plastic bags can lead to
breeding of Mosquitoes and sewage
overflowing.
*Burning of Polybags cause the production
of CO[carbon monoxide ]and other
hazardous gases
A Radio story by Akanksha Kukreti and Aqsa Anjum
Inqilab back in the air
The breeze of Inqilab seems to be blowing again., As we are moving ahead in time it seems we are forgetting about our real heroes .To remind us of the real legend, the well-known documentary filmmaker Gauhar Raza decided to paint Bhagat Singh on a filmy canvas.
On 13 July, the film Inqilab was released at Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML). The famous actor and social activist Rahul Bose released the DVD of the documentary. The film is produced by Raza in collaboration with Act Now for Harmony and Democracy (ANHAD), a non profit organization.
A special screening of the film Inqilab was done in the Ansari Auditorium of Jamia Millia Islamia on August 5. It introduced the students to the life of the martyr Bhagat Singh. Raza portrays the life of the legend in a different manner in the film. No dramatisation of Bhagat Singh’s character is used. The 40-min film gives information about Bhagat Singh’s life like his interest in reading books which started at a tender age of ten, and his dream of a free and socialist India.
Raza said that his intention behind making this film was not to show Bhagat Singh as the national hero because Bollywood has already done that. Instead, he wanted to explore why Bhagat Singh is considered a hero till date.
This documentary is based on huge research with rare documents and archives used. The visuals are shot in the places like Lahore and Delhi.
To narrate the story, the director has used various prominent personalities like Zohra Sehgal, Dr Irfan Habib, Kuldeep Nayyar, Swami Agnivesh, and Suchitra Sinha. Explaining his position, Raza said, “I used this treatment because visuals were not sufficient and it was the best that I could do. Instead of enacting the story, I wanted the personalities to narrate the story.”
The impact of the film was visible as the auditorium echoed with chants of the slogan ‘Inqilab zindabad’ and applauses that filled the air. During the interactive session, Gauhar Raza summed up the screening by saying, “It is up to the youth of the country, that is, you people, to bring a revolution for the benefit of all.”
A Radio story by Aqsa Anjum and Saurabh Sharma
Words and photos: Aqsa Anjum, MA (F), Convergent Journalism
