Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Delhi State President Saurabh Bhardwaj launched a scathing attack on the BJP government over ground water pollution due to the formation of new mountains of garbage in Delhi. The BJP is turning Delhi into the “cancer capital” of India by creating garbage dump after garbage dump, he said, adding that waste from the Bhalswa landfill is being sent to Kirari, putting poor Purvanchali residents there at risk of life-threatening diseases like cancer.
AAP’s Delhi unit president said plastic and chemical-laden waste was gradually polluting the soil, air and groundwater of the entire region. He said this waste is enough to make tube well water poisonous, causing the entire area to fall ill. He said that the BJP government is creating such fraud so that it seems that the mountain of Bhalswa garbage is being reduced.
Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, AAP Delhi state president Saurabh Bhardwaj said that for almost fifteen years, the BJP ruled the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), and the BJP gave the people of Delhi three stains – three mountains of garbage, which is known as the shame of Delhi. “CM Rekha Gupta herself is a major stakeholder in that embarrassment as she was a BJP councilor at times,” he said.
AAP’s Delhi unit chief further said that when she was a BJP councillor, the mayor was from the BJP, the standing committee was from the BJP and the BJP had complete control over the MCD. He said, “During this time he gave these three scars to Delhi.”
Saurabh Bhardwaj further said that BJP kept doing the same for fifteen years without thinking about what would happen to the garbage that is continuously getting accumulated. He said, “When AAP came to MCD, we took some concrete steps on this issue.”
He further said, “But for the last 6-7 months, we have been seeing how the BJP is betraying the people of Delhi, especially the poor Purvanchali population of Delhi and the poorest residents of the city. By doing this, they are ‘gifting’ a terrible disease like cancer to all their future generations.”
AAP’s Delhi unit chief said he was shocked when he visited Delhi’s Kirari area yesterday and said, “Thousands of truckloads of waste from the Bhalswa landfill has been dumped there as far as the eye can see. The stench is unbearable.”
He said dust constantly hangs in the air, adding that even an hour’s stay at the site causes severe eye irritation and throat irritation. “We were there for about two hours yesterday,” he said, adding that those accompanying him were repeatedly asking how the residents were living in such conditions as their eyes were burning badly.
The senior AAP leader further said, “The entire waste consists of plastic, polythene and different types of chemicals. Several feet thick layers have accumulated all over Rohini and Kirari areas. And at one place, we even saw a mountain of garbage. These are the same mountains of garbage about which the CM had said, ‘mountains of garbage, you will have to go’. That garbage is being sent from Bhalswa to Kirari.”
He said that this government has come to power only to deceive Delhi and the scale of the fraud is astonishing. Addressing the CM, he said, “You committed fraud on Yamuna pollution, your theft was exposed in front of the people of Delhi and after seeing so much foam in Yamuna, Rekha Gupta has now stopped going near the river or even talking about it.”
Saurabh Bhardwaj further said, ‘There was fraud on air pollution, fraud on monitoring stations and now such a big fraud is being done in the name of mountain of garbage.’
He said that the matter is not limited to Kirari, in the coming days they will also bring videos from many other parts of Delhi, where garbage is being taken by thousands of trucks from Bhalswa and other landfill sites and dumped elsewhere.
Urging an investigation into the issue, he said journalists should talk to scientists and environmentalists and share videos of garbage with them to understand its impact on public health. “They will tell you it will cause serious respiratory illnesses,” he said.
Saurabh Bhardwaj further warned that pollution is already going on. “When rainwater soaks up the waste, it produces leachate, a fluid that seeps into the ground, permanently contaminating groundwater and poisoning it,” he said.
People in areas like Kirari mostly depend on tube well water, he said, warning that “people who drink and consume that water will face serious diseases like cancer.” Emphasizing the seriousness of the issue, he said, “After talking to many people, I am saying with full responsibility that what these people are doing will turn Delhi into the cancer capital of India.”
Terming the BJP government’s false propaganda as ‘acting’, Saurabh Bhardwaj said, “The sins they are committing, the work they are doing in Delhi for their false propaganda, they are ready to give cancer to small children in Delhi. What dirty people they are.”
Urging journalists to visit the site with experts, he said, “I want you all to go there, take scientists with you. Scientists will see how layer after layer of waste mixed with plastic, polythene and chemicals is being dumped there.”
Questioning the government’s attitude, he asked, “Why doesn’t the Chief Minister take this garbage to her home? There is garbage outside her house too, but why not inside her government bungalow? Why doesn’t she fill a truck with garbage and dump the same layer of garbage in front of her house?”
He said that there is also a huge park at the residence of Delhi Development Authority (DDA) chief, Lieutenant Governor (LG), which is kept lush green. Raising questions on this, he said, “Why doesn’t LG sahib bring a truckload of garbage every morning and dump it at his own house, in the LG House, where big people are hosted and are fed samosas? Let LG sahib bring a truckload of garbage and dump it in front of his own house. If this is such a good thing, then what are they waiting for?”
The AAP Delhi state president further said, “A conspiracy is being hatched to kill the poor. A false achievement is being showcased, claiming that mountains of garbage have been reduced, even if lakhs of people fall ill.”
Comparing it to the Yamuna, he said, “This is exactly what you did to the Yamuna. You lied that the Yamuna had been cleaned. Poor children came and celebrated Chhath in it and went back. What benefit did you get from this? You yourself did not bathe in it. If the poor children drowned or fell ill, the same would happen.”
After this, Saurabh Bhardwaj showed a video of his visit, in which it was told that this place is a different area from Sharma Colony, which was earlier seen submerged. “Beyond that area, as far as this camera can see, you can see layers upon layers of garbage,” he said, adding that the layer of garbage was about four feet high above street level.
He said that upon closer inspection, plastic bags were visible throughout the dump. He said this confirmed that it was pure waste being brought from the Bhalswa landfill site.
Saurabh Bhardwaj said that, theoretically and legally, it should have been a waste that did not contain any polythene, plastic or any non-biodegradable material. “However, the reality is that it obviously contains plastic bags, plastics and all those chemicals which are almost equivalent to poison. When rain water falls on it and slowly seeps into the groundwater, it will poison the entire groundwater,” he said.
Showing another video, Saurabh Bhardwaj said they were standing on DDA land, which works under the LG and is a central government body. He said, ‘Behind this DDA land, there are many residential colonies spread in Kirari area.’
He continued to highlight that there are many colonies behind the DDA land, all of which fall under Kirari assembly constituency. “What looks like mountains on the DDA land are not Aravali hills but mountains of garbage, formed by dumping of waste brought from the Bhalswa landfill site,” he said.
Saurabh Bhardwaj said that CM Rekha Gupta had said, ‘mountains of garbage, you will have to go’, but she did not tell where these mountains of garbage would actually go. He said, “Today the reality is in front of everyone. These mountains of garbage are made of the waste of Bhalswa between Rohini and Kirari.”
AAP’s Delhi unit chief concluded by emphasizing the fact that it was Bhalswa’s waste and reiterated, “By dumping it there, the entire land and environment is being polluted, the consequences of which residents will have to suffer for many years to come.”
