The capital of India is on its way to gift the world its 8^th wonder of the world by 2020. The description of this "wonder"? – A garbage dump. No exaggeration here. It is literally a garbage dump. Around 800km from the National Capital Region, lies an infamous 'Garbage Mountain'. At this rate of growth, this mountain is set to rise higher than the Taj Mahal. Let me scale the Taj Mahal for those who don't know how big it is…. The Madison square garden measures 7.6 hectares. Taj Mahal measures 17 hectares. At this point, the garbage mountain measures 28 hectares. That is almost FOUR TIMES THE SIZE.

The size of this mountain is nothing compared to the problems it brings with it. This is a source of an innumerable amount of diseases, pathogens and chronic health conditions. Some of them may include, cholera, malaria, typhoid, dysentery and SO MANY more…most of which will be deadly. With monsoon around the corner, malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases will be on the rise. Are we prepared for such outbreaks? Another problem associated with this HEAP OF HORRORS is the sparking of regular fires caused by the release of methane. The extinguishing of these fires takes hours and sometimes days.

Ghazipur Landfill Indian Express

This is not the only incident where a careless approach towards waste disposal has extremely toxic effects. In Bangalore, the Bellandur Lake created a mixture of chemicals that resulted in the formation of toxic foam. This foam is overflowing into the streets and is interacting with human beings. This foam is carcinogenic – IT IS A CANCER-CAUSING AGENT. Apart from this, it can cause breathing difficulties, skin irritation, and other possibly fatal symptoms. We can only assume that any form of aquatic life found in these lakes is dead. The main cause for these toxic foams is the release of untreated sewage from industries into lakes. Furthermore, the release of different detergents from houses is also a key factor in the formation of this froth.

Bellandur Lake froth

What is the government of India doing to manage and treat the waste released by factories and houses? Instead of allotting MILLIONS OF DOLLARS or THOUSANDS OF CRORES OF RUPEES towards building giant statues of past leaders, this money could have been used towards developing an effective waste management system.

But we cannot depend on the government solely for this cleanup. We owe it to us and the future generations, as citizens of this nation to aid in this cleanup. We are also responsible for the heap of garbage piling in the capital. We are also responsible for the toxic froth spewing out of the Bangalore rivers. Research about the different techniques that can be used for managing wastes at an individual and community level. Follow whatever government initiatives have been implemented. Speak out against the government on policies that harm our environment and those laws that have the ability to jeopardize the health of the people.