It was an accidental discovery for Seema… a lit matchstick that fell to the ground caught fire. For the past few months, she had been making use of the methane gas escaping from the ground to boil water and even cook for her family.
Seema and her husband Jalauddin, along with their three sons, came to the city from Delhi around four years ago. Jalauddin is a rag picker and has an identity card issued by the BBMP. The family has been living at the quarry pit.
“I rarely use it to cook… the fire is too strong and a few times, I burnt the food. But I use it to boil water for bathing,” she said.
Seema and her family, along with 20 people who live in the nine-acre area, have now been asked to move out immediately. “But where do we go? I hope the civic authorities give us more time,” she said seemingly unaware of the danger of living near the abandoned quarry pit.
