According to the Economic Survey 2021-22In 2019-20, 43.99 Crores of the population worked in the unorganized sector. These workers are usually employed as day laborers and work in an open environment where they are exposed to all kinds of pollutants, air pollution, water pollution and climatic conditions to the extent that is normal for them. Different sections recognize these obstacles differently or adapt to them differently, also depending on their situation.
Pollution but love for Jamna
“50-60 saal se yahi rehte hai hum” (We have lived here for 50-60 years), says Krishna Devi.
Krishna Devi talks about her life in Yamuna Ghat. She has spent her entire life at these banks sourcing and selling clothes in Chandni Chowk, which she stopped a few years ago due to health reasons. She remains reserved when asked about the conditions around her town, such as the toxic river and the toxic gases and pollution it emits. After living there for so long, the pollution and climatic conditions around the river have become so much a part of her life that she no longer even notices them; These conditions are all she knew.
Photo by: Ketki Pathak
All the houses on the bank had their backs open to the Yamuna River and the front doors smelled. She was the mother of two sons and a daughter, all of whom are grown, married and now have children of their own. All of her children were doing well financially, one even worked in the Indian Air Force, but she never wanted to move out of the Ghat.
Krishna Devi is now a grandmother at the age of 60; Her sister, a few years younger than her, sits there washing dishes at the floor pump. Her sister adds, “Kahi aur mann bhi nhi lagta, kahi bhi jaye, neend toh apne ghar mai hi aati, mann yahi lagta.” (Nowhere else feels right; no matter where I go, I can only in my own Sleeping at home; my heart feels at peace here.)
Most of the people who lived here had independent businesses or were day laborers whose jobs required them to spend their time exposed to the open and polluted environment for extended periods of time. Krishna Devi and her sister had to temporarily relocate with their families when the river water level rose. “Yaha tak paani chadh jata (she says, pointing to the roof of her house), pichle saal Chadha tha, Narela jana padha tha pure parivar ko, pareshani usme bhi aati, gaea bael leke kaha jaye.” (The water rises up to here. Last year it rose and we had to go to Narela with the whole family. That was troublesome and where should we go with our cattle?) They have been in different parts of Delhi Relatives lived They always made their way back to the Ghats of Yamuna. Located right in the Yamuna Ghats, their home is exposed to fumes, toxic gases and volatile organic compounds released into the atmosphere due to pollutants in the water.
Pollution, toxic air and well-maintained parks in Delhi
In a contrasting situation, Rusa Devi, 30, a resident of Dwarka town in Delhi, migrated from UP in search of work. She has three children and sells mortars and pestles; She moved to Delhi this summer in search of better earning opportunities. ‘Mujhe acha ni lagi yaha, mai wapas jaa rhi hoon 3 din mai. Garmi me aayi thi mai, kama ke wapas ghar jaane, par yaha ka hawa acha nhi hai. Baaki toh kaafi saal se yahi deer rhe, par mujhe nhi rukna yaha.’ (I didn’t like it here, so I’m going back in three days. I came here in the summer to make money and return home, but the air here is not good. Others have been staying here for many years, but me don’t want to stay here.) She lives at the back of the Dwarka water supply tank in Sector 20. This jhuggi, located behind the tank and provided by the contractor to laborers employed on daily wage basis for various types of work in the area, is situated amidst various recently developed parks for the up-and-coming Omaxe Mall project.
Photo by: Ketki Pathak
Another woman from the same jhuggi commented, “What should I do now? Didi, I think so, I’ll earn for a few months and then go home, then I have to come back.” Now you came, you gave us medicine, you don’t know the treatment, the government didn’t give us medicine or tell us . (What can we do, sister? We need to fill our stomachs, don’t we? We earn for a few months, then go home, and then have to go back again. Now that you’re here, you can tell me if that’s the case ? Is there a cure for cough and stuff? The government doesn’t provide or tell us any medicine.)
The Jhuggi residents are mainly employed on daily wage basis in the nearby parks and do sweeping, cutting, throwing and other menial work every morning from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 a.m. Due to the lack of proper protective equipment for work, they are exposed to nearby runoff water and gases, Delhi’s persistent air pollution, and particulate matter and dust on a daily basis.
Day and night, always at your gates
When looking for jobs with slightly better security and pay, security guards in Dwarka are more aware of the health effects they face during their 12-hour shifts. A security guard, Ashok, sits at the gate of a society in Dwarka for 12 hours. He welcomes everyone who passes by and greets them as they carry out their duties. As he begins a conversation about the weather and the polluted climate, he interjects: “Kya hai pradushan btao?” Ye jo parali jalate hai, saari hawa dilli ko hi aani hoti? Aisa thodi hai, sab sara politics ke liye map ye. Thand hoti uss wajah se hawa baith jaati par itna bada thodi hota jitna ye banadete.’ (What is pollution? If they burn stubble, will all the smoke come to Delhi? That’s not the case; they’re doing it all for politics. The cold weather causes the air to calm down, but it’s not that big of a deal how she should do it.)
The 60-year-old completely dismisses environmental pollution as a serious problem; He admits to the occasional cough and shortness of breath, but blames it on his age.
The 60-year-old completely refuses Pollution as a serious matter; He admits to the occasional cough and shortness of breath, but blames it on his age. Ashok used to work in a media publishing house and deliver magazines. Years of work and a few surgeries later, he sits at the gate and works just to pass his time. He goes on to tell us how he retired three years ago when his wife was battling cancer; It expired a year ago. “Fir ghar baithne ka mann nhi kiya, kitna aram karega aadmi.” (I didn’t feel like sitting at home; how much can a person rest?)
At the age of 60, with no job or other options, Ashok now spends a 12-hour shift as a security guard exposed to Delhi’s pollution, unaware of its impact on his health.
