The skyrocketing garbage disposal problem usually rises two-fold during every festival in India. The recent Durga Visharjan processions reminded us of the impact on environment caused by traffic emissions, firecrackers and even generators used to provide fuel for sound systems during idol immersion. Garbage that can easily be recycled or reused, the main culprit being plastic, also ends up in mounting landfills. And heaps of garbage coming out of puja pandals cannot be ignored either.
The problem of garbage disposal in the capital city of Delhi has increased by leaps and bounds due to lack of dumping space and other neglected constraints or lack of resources on the part of local bodies. Adequate recycling measures should be adopted to address this rapidly growing concern of aggravating landfill problems. Festivities are not yet over and with Diwali round the corner, local government bodies should take a meticulous approach towards guidance notes for municipal solid waste disposal.
The Delhi Development Authority has not been able to find optimum solutions and suggestions to meet the issue of bulging mountains of garbage in the three major sanitary landfills (SLF) sites at Ghazipur, Okhla and Bhalaswa Jahangirpuri. The problem has been lingering on for quite some time now and even the High Court has not been of much help in identifying new SLF sites for Delhi. Spreading the message of civic sense in our puja pandals takes great importance to curb the pollution caused during festivals like this. We must get our social act together before blaming it on local administrators and civic bodies entirely.
The highly contaminated Ganga, due to discharge of human and industrial wastes, stood even more polluted after the immersion of large number of Durga idols in the city. The idols carry with them litres of paint, bulks of plaster of Paris, toxic synthetic materials and non-biodegradable wastes like plastic flowers, plunged into the holy river.
Not only the government but also devotees should take initiatives to address this burning issue and cooperate with the guidelines set for craftsmen to use eco-friendly materials and organic paints to make idols. The idol makers in few places such as in Kumartuli, the nerve centre of idol makers in Kolkata, took intiatives this year to check toxic waste levels by using paints devoid of lead, mercury and chromium to embellish the idols.
There are now, many sustainable ways to get rid of garbage. Just google it! And it goes without saying that the lesser the garbage the better.
Picture courtesy: Festivals of India
