Bandhwari, a small village situated in the foothills of Aravallis, is known for its garbage mountain, which is quite visible from the Faridabad-Gurugram highway. The garbage mountain instead of providing relief from the waste has become a source of multiple issues for the villagers.
“I don’t want anyone else to face what I’m facing. I think I’m suffering from cancer because of the leachate, which is flowing from the garbage mountain,” says Satpal, a cancer patient from Bandhwari village.
Like Satpal, most of the residents of this village, attribute the spread of cancer and other deadly diseases to the garbage mountain and leachate flowing from it towards their village.
Once you enter the village, you will notice the anger among the locals, and how terrible their lives have become under the shadow of the garbage mountain.
Sanjay Harsana, a village resident, said, “We have been raising this issue with the authorities for a long time but no substantial solution has been provided yet. Now, the situation has gone so bad that even children are born with the diseases. It is better that we die now rather than dying every day”.
Despite repeated assurances from municipal officials, locals say the situation has become much worse in the last six months. Villagers say the political class has been largely evasive on this civic and health issue, but some have extended a helping hand.
“I am aware about the situation and I fell really bad about it. This is a national issue and we are working on it,” said Manesh Daima, a local councillor.
Vaishali Rana, an environmentalist, is battling for the cause of the villagers for the last six years. “Every third house in Bandhwari has or had cancer. The living conditions are really bad in the village. The toxic fluid is now at the village boundaries. The leachate was tested earlier and found to be toxic,” say Vaishali Rana.
News18 Investigation
To verify the claims made by the villagers and activists about fresh water being contaminated and main cause of cancer, News18 independently got water sample tested from both dumping yard and village’s bore well, which is one of the sources of fresh water in Bandhwari.
The results are startling. It is clear that the leachate water has made way to the fresh water sources in the region.
News18 got the water sample tested from ITS Testing laboratory, Noida, which is a NABL accredited lab.
Vikas Kumar, a water analyst, says the water is based on ‘above tested’ parameters. The sample does not meet IS: 10500:2012 certification. Hence, it is not fit for drinking.
Based on the test results, the most worrying elements found in water are lead and cadmium. Lead is 120 times more and cadmium is 10 times more than the permissible limit.
The locals say multiple samples of water have been taken by the authorities from the region but no viable solution has been provided.
The authorities are well aware of the situation but a little to almost nothing has been done to address the villager’s issue. In the meantime, the waste mountain rises higher and higher, so as the problems for the locals.
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