The mountain of smouldering trash at the Bhalswa landfill forms an imposing background to Jheel Park in Jahangirpuri, where twice a day a group of about 80-100 women come and perform yoga.
Not always smelly
“The stench is unbearable when the wind blows in from the landfill’s direction, but that does not happen all the time,” said Parmeshwari, a resident of the area.
“In fact, we feel quite fresh from the exercise, especially when the wind is blowing from other directions,” she said.
A bigger concern for the women is that no maintenance work is being undertaken at the park, which comes under the jurisdiction of the Delhi Development Authority.
The trees that were planted here have either been uprooted or have dried up due to improper upkeep.
“There are supposed to be at least 15 guards to look after this 25 acre piece of land. Some ₹200 crore was supposed to be used in its development, but nothing has come of it,” said another resident of the area.
Some said that locals use the park for drinking during the evening. Shards of broken bottles littering the ground are evidence of this.
‘Broken glass everywhere’
“Everyday we have to find a clear patch to do yoga. If we clear one area one day, the next day it is again littered with broken glass,” said Bhavita, a regular at the sessions.
The women, who share the ground with kids playing cricket, started holding yoga sessions two months back.
“All of us have some problem or the other, in our backs, legs, or some thyroid problem. Apart from the medicines, yoga helps keep us healthy,” said one woman.
Dhanpati, a 60-year-old resident of the area, said: “I was paralysed from the waist down. But with yoga, along with medication of course, I am able to move around quite easily now.”
“We may not be doing the postures correctly. If we had an instructor, we would know what to do,” said Bhavita, adding: “Or they [authorities] should install those exercise machines like they have in the parks in New Delhi.”
As an afterthought, the women said that it would be good if the “awful garbage dump was removed”. The residents, however, realise that this is a pipe dream and that the mountain of trash will be a fixture of their skyline for now.
For them, performing yoga in the shade of the dump yard was making the best of a smelly situation.
