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Deonar dumping ground

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Coordinates: 19°04′02″N 72°55′11″E / 19.0671°N 72.9197°E / 19.0671; 72.9197
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19°04′02″N 72°55′11″E / 19.0671°N 72.9197°E / 19.0671; 72.9197

The Deonar dumping ground is a waste dumping ground or landfill in the city of Mumbai. Located in Shivaji Nagar, an eastern suburb of the city, it is India's oldest and largest[1][2] dumping ground, set up in 1927.[3][4][5][6][7] The dumping ground is managed by the city's civic body, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (also known as Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai), which also manages two other dumping ground in the city; one in the neighbourhood of Mulund and one recently opened in Kanjurmarg.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on 6 August moved a proposal before the state environment department seeking environment clearance for its proposed waste-to-energy (WTE) plant at the Deonar dumping ground. The BMC's proposal has been accepted by the state environment impact assessment authority (SEIAA) and is currently under examination by the state-level expert appraisal committee (EAC).

Geography

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Deonar dumping ground seen behind the Eastern Express Highway.

The dumping ground extends over 132 hectares and receives 5,500 metric tonnes of waste, 600 metric tonnes of silt and 25 tonnes of bio-medical waste daily.[8] Between March and June the daily amount of silt rises to more than 9,000 metric tonnes because of drain cleaning in advance of the monsoon season.[4][9]

The dump rises to around 114 ft. high. However, in February 2012, Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai sought permission from the Airport Authority of India (AAI) to increase this to around 164 ft.[10] As of December 2014, the waste had reached the height of an 18-storeyed tower.[11]

There is another old dumping ground in Mulund in the north-eastern part of the city, where about 2,000 metric tonnes of garbage are dumped daily.[8] In March 2015, a new dumping site was opened in the city by the city's civic body in Kanjurmarg which happens to be the first dumping site which is processed scientifically.[12]

Health issues

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NASA Image: Smoke from the fire which broke out on 28 Jan 2016 at the Deonar dumping ground, Mumbai[13]

The Deonar dumping ground has caused health issues for the residents from Mumbai's neighbourhood of Chembur, Govandi and Mankhurd.[4] Recurrent fires at the dump have caused conditions unfit for habitation for residents of the adjacent area.[14] In 2008, around 40 residents of Chembur went on a hunger strike to protest against the frequent fires and smoke.[15] Again in 2012, Chembur residents complained to the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai about the smoke coming out of the dumping ground, which has been affecting asthma patients.[16] In 2015, neighbourhood surrounding to the dumping ground was identified as the city's most polluted area.[17] Another fire broke out at the Deonar dumping ground in January 2016 causing the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to shut down 74 schools run by it for two days, as the smoke from the ground veiled the area causing breathing difficulties.[18][19]

Infant mortality has also been a concern in the nearby areas; as the rate stands at 60-80 per 1000 live births, which is double the average of 35.2 for the entire city.[20]

Potential closure

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In August 2008, it was reported that after receiving complaints from and pollution from the dump, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had decided to close down a section of the dumping ground and use it to generate 7 to 8 MW of power by methane extraction, adding ₹400 million (US$4.7 million) to BMC's revenue.[5] A few months later, BMC granted a contract for the scientific partial closure of the dumping ground for ₹7.04 billion (US$82 million). Partial closing was to take place in two phases, 65 hectares in the first phase, and in the second phase construction of a processing plant and sanitary landfill on the remaining 55 hectares.[21]

Saumya Roy's book "Mountain Tales: Love and Loss in the Municipality of Castaway Belongings" provides a picture of some of the people whose lives and work are focused on the Deonar dump and it relates some of the attempts which have been made to close the site.[22]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Desai, Shweta (3 November 2008). "Deonar dump ready for Rs 5000-cr makeover". The Indian Express. Mumbai. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
  2. ^ Jawdekar, Prachi (5 August 2010). "Mumbai scam: Rs. 2600 crore for services that are free". NDTV. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
  3. ^ "Activists withdraw PIL on dumping ground". The Times of India. 23 March 2012. Archived from the original on 7 July 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  4. ^ a b c "45% of Deonar dumping ground to be cleared by May". DNA India. 28 March 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  5. ^ a b Suryawanshi, Sudhir (15 August 2008). "65 acres of Deonar dumping ground to be closed down". Mumbai Mirror. Mumbai. Archived from the original on 29 January 2013. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
  6. ^ "BMC in the dock over toxic gases at Deonar dump". The Times of India. Mumbai. 26 November 2008. Archived from the original on 2 July 2012. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
  7. ^ Sayed, Nazia (8 December 2009). "Gang attacks deonar docs". Mumbai Mirror. Mumbai. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
  8. ^ a b Suryawanshi, Sudhir (30 November 2010). "Soon, city will have no place to dump trash". Mumbai Mirror. Mumbai. Archived from the original on 1 April 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  9. ^ "45% of Deonar dumping ground to be cleared by May". 23 March 2012. inchembur.com. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
  10. ^ "Mumbail locals 'raise' stink over Deonar dump height". DNA India. Mumbai. 15 March 2012. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
  11. ^ Kunal Purohit; Poorvi Kulkarni (14 December 2014). "Maximum city, maximum garbage". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 15 December 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  12. ^ Tanushree Venkatraman (3 September 2015). "Dumping grounds: Will shut only Mulund dump yard, says BMC". The Indian Express. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  13. ^ "Fire Burns in Mumbai Landfill". Mumbai. 28 January 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  14. ^ Kulkarni, Poorvi (5 March 2012). "Deonar dump smoke makes locals Fume". Hindustan Times. Mumbai. Archived from the original on 1 January 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  15. ^ "Residents protest fire at Deonar dumping ground". The Indian Express. 25 March 2008. Archived from the original on 31 July 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  16. ^ Times News Network (18 May 2012). "Chembur residents fume over smoke from Deonar dumping ground". The Times of India. Mumbai. Archived from the original on 15 July 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  17. ^ Richa Pinto (23 October 2015). "Chembur city's most polluted suburb, thanks to dump fires and industries in neighbourhood". The Times of India. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  18. ^ "Deonar dump fire chokes suburbs; smog across city". Mumbai. 28 January 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  19. ^ "Smog from dumping ground fire shuts down 74 schools in Mumbai". Mumbai. 28 January 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  20. ^ "Govandi residents raise a stink, CM vows solution to Deonar deadlock". Mumbai. 11 January 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  21. ^ Desai, Geeta (10 November 2008). "BMC mulls record Rs 704 cr contract to close part of Deonar dump yard". Mumbai Mirror. Mumbai. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  22. ^ Roy, Saumya (2021). Mountain Tales: Love and Loss in the Municipality of Castaway Belongings. Profile Books. ISBN 9781788165365. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
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