Bijnor: At a time when the Narendra Modi government at the Centre is pitching for cleanliness under the Swachh Bharat mission, the Bijnor city administration is neglecting garbagemanagement under its jurisdiction. Though the civic body collects 25 metric tonnes of garbage a day, it has no landfill site to dump the waste, nor is there any system for recycling of waste.
As there is no proper system of waste disposal, the citizens dump garbage on roadsides, making the city an eyesore. Most of the time, the waste is burned, causing air pollution. Bijnor has no air quality monitoring system and no step has been taken by the nagar palika to check unscientific disposal of waste.
Ashok Madhup, a resident of Kunwar Bal Govind, said, "It is a common sight to see residents and shopkeepers burning waste, that includes plastic, every morning."
Palika executive officer J K Anand denied that civic body employees burn garbage, but he accepted that some residents do set on fire garbage generated by them. Anand said, "The nagar palika has no land of its own to dump garbage, but we have leased a piece of land where waste is dumped. There are 35 big dustbins placed across the city."
Pollution control board officer Ashok Tiwari said, "The city administration has not submitted the annual pollution report so far." He said the responsibility of recycling of garbage is with the nagar palika. "We have issued a notice to the nagar palika about this matter."
According to C P Singh, a chemistry professor who has done extensive research in organic chemistry, "Plastic takes about 100 to 1,000 years to degrade when used in landfills; and it pollutes both air and water. Burning of plastic containing organochlorine-based substance like PVC releases harmful dioxin, a group of highly toxic chemicals. Dioxin is carcinogenic and a hormone disruptor."
Head of department at chemistry division in St Mary's College, Bijnor, Mayank Malik said, "Burning of polystyrene polymers such as foam cups, meat trays, egg containers, yogurt and daily containers release styrene gas, which can be readily absorbed through skin. Long-term exposure to styrene can effect the central nervous system, cause fatigue and depression. At high levels, styrene vapour can damage the eyes and mucous membranes, while dioxin accumulates in our body fat that can be passed on by pregnant women to their babies via the placenta.
Talking about the harm these gases cause to babies, Dr Nagraj, child specialist, Bijnor, said, "Backyard-burning of waste is far more harmful to our health. It can increase the risk of heart diseases, aggravate respiratory ailments such as asthma and emphysema, and cause rashes, nausea or headaches. It can also damage the nervous system, kidney or liver."
