The Untold Story of Delhi’s Bhalswa’s Locality Photo: Representative Image The Untold Story of Delhi’s Bhalswa’s Locality Photo: Representative Image

As Delhi gears up for upcoming Assembly electionslolliplay, Bhalswa residents remain skeptical of any real change and share deep cynicism.

“One political party will win the polls, take the throne and then sit at home,” says Rita.

Several tall promises were made during the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections, December 2022, for the welfare of locals of the area, which is nestled under a towering mountain of garbage in the city’s Northwest district.

But two years have passed, the situation remains dire. People survive here in pathetic living conditions. Mounting health concerns continue to plague the area.

Three massive landfill sites in the region became a central issue during the MCD election campaigns of both the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). However, Bhalswa residents find themselves disillusioned because of the unfulfilled promises.

Ankit Kumar (22) recently recovered from tuberculosis. He tells news agency PTI, “We have been facing this problem for years. Nobody is safe here, not even the animals. The cows have nothing but plastics in their stomachs.”

Pointing out the continuous health risks, he says, “Throughout the year, someone or the other in our family falls sick. Politicians made tall promises during the elections, which they forgot soon after the polls.”

The infrastructure and stark imaginary of the area speaks volumes: homes standing precariously at the edge of a towering heap of waste, children playing in the middle of garbage mountain and vultures circling overhead – searching for food. Though JCB excavators and trucks can occasionally seen working at the site, residents see it as optics and argue that it is a far cry from a sustainable solution.

Sixty-year-old Poonam Devi shares the grim reality, “We have not seen any drastic measures being taken after the elections. They show miles of intention, but not an inch of movement.”

Recalling an incident, she says, “A portion of the garbage mountain collapsed and buried my entire house two years ago.”

Similarly, 45-year-old Rita, another resident, shared the trauma of her family suffered when a portion of the waste pile caved in – trapping her six-day-old granddaughter. “We rescued her ourselves; no one came forward to help. Politicians make tall promises, but nothing changes on the ground,” she rues. “How long will we keep ourselves locked inside our homes? We need to venture out to earn our daily bread.”

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Meanwhile, South Korea were knocked out by the defending champions, India, with a 1-4 defeat in the semi-final. In their pool stage encounter, South Korea had previously played to a 2-2 draw against their next opponent, Pakistan.

With no playground, children of the locality are left to play on the hazardous slopes of the landfill. “We play on the garbage mountain because the park here is also filled with garbage,” Arhaan, 9, tells the news agency.

Abdul Rahman, 10, highlighted the dangers posed by the environment. “The park is full of garbage and electric wires. A few of my friends got injured because of the wires. There is nothing for us here.”

Environmental experts have often raised alarms about the ongoing hazards. As an environmental activist, Bhavreen Kandhari, cautions, “Living so close to a landfill has dire consequences. The toxic fumes, contaminated water and unregulated dumping are not just harming the residents, but also the surrounding ecosystem.”

Meanwhile, the slum dwellers continue to demand urgent action to address the escalating crises they face daily.

(With PTI inputs)lolliplay