‘Instead of better facilities, we are getting a dump site’

Rani Khera residents say govt should build parks and schools

NEW DELHI, 04/09/2017: Rani Khera Villagers protest against new landfill site in their neighborhood, in Delhi on Monday. September 04, 2017. Photo: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar

Garbage piled up in various parts of the city as the civic bodies said that all dump yards in the Capital were shut on Monday. The matter was exacerbated as residents of Rani Khera village continued to protest against the area being the location of an alternate landfill site, and stopped municipal garbage trucks from entering the locality.

On the second day of their protest, the villagers reiterated their demand for better infrastructure.

‘Will keep fighting’

“Instead of making parks, dispensaries, colleges and hospitals, the government is turning the area into a dump yard. We will not tolerate this at any cost. All kinds of waste, including animal carcass, is getting dumped here. How can the government do this in a residential area?” said Hariram Mathur, a local.

Another villager Devendra Singh said: “Why can’t the government adopt recycling techniques? We have always been surrounded by greenery. By dumping the waste here, it looks like the government wants us to breathe the same polluted air that rest of Delhi is infamous for”.

On Saturday, the Lieutenant-Governor had directed that the Ghazipur and Bhalswa landfills be closed. Soon after, the government declared Rani Khera village as an alternate landfill site.

On Sunday, the villagers began their agitation and stopped municipal garbage trucks from entering the area. “With 17 colonies and 11 villages in the area, we are a close-knit community and we will keep fighting till the government comes up with a permanent solution” said Jagbir Singh Dabbas.

Residents claimed that the area was originally allotted to the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), which had proposed to build residential colonies there.

‘Unbearable stench’

“This is a purely residential area where the DDA had plans of constructing residential complexes for Rohini Sector 40-41. However, the government is now trying to use this area to throw carcasses. It is impossible for us to live in such conditions. What is the reason behind the government’s bias against rural areas?” said Subhash Chandra Dabas, another local.

Women and children were also at the protest. “The stench is unbearable and a lot of us fell sick. The children are throwing up. The government had promised us better infrastructure, but now our area has been reduced to a landfill site. We will not accept this. It is better that they kill us rather than put us through this torture” said Rita, another villager.