*I was sleeping on the terrace and suddenly started coughing. I opened my eyes to find giant plumes of smoke coming my way. I couldn't breathe and it was almost like somebody was strangling me. My family had to admit me in GB Pant Hospital. It is impossible to live here," says 85-year-old Hari Dutt Sharma.*
Welcome to Mandoli, on the edge of the capital, where when the locals complain of the heavy pollution, they are offered just one solution by the factory owners: leave your homes and relocate.
Here the demarcation between the residential and industrial areas is blurred. According to the Master Plan of Delhi, industries should no longer be allowed in residential areas but the guidelines do not seem to be followed here.
In fact, here there is hardly a distance of 50 metres between the residential colonies and factories operating 24/7.
As one enter the bylanes of this 'border town' in northeast Delhi, the vision gets blurred due to the smoke billowing out of factories lined one after another. While most of them are locked from outside, sounds of machines and voices of workers can be heard inside.
"Most of them are illegal, operating without any licence. They remain locked during the day and mostly operate during the night. If you come here at night, you will see that the situation gets worse," says Shyam Babu, a resident of Prem Nagar.
Babu is in-charge of the Aam Aadmi Party's local social media team and works under the constituency MLA Fateh Singh.
"The MLA has written various letters to the government and even met Environment Minister Imran Hussain a few days ago. Even I have written to the Chief Minister's Office but haven't received any reply till now," he said.
A survey by Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) in January had found 173 polluting units and gross violations of pollution control norms in the area.
These are mainly highly polluting chemical, rubber, metal and plastic factories. There are also units recycling batteries, and making electrical spare parts and copper wire.
These units often use coal to fuel furnaces, releasing fumes and ash into the residential colonies. Open dumping, spilling of chemicals, and waste burning is also a common problem.
"There are days when coughing is uncontrollable and there are bouts of vomiting. When we complain, the factory owners tell us to leave the area and go. This is our own plot and we have been living here for 20 years, so where will we go. But now we feel trapped here," says Barfi, a resident of Mandoli's Radha Vihar.
While there are no statistics on people suffering from asthma in the area, residents say it's a common problem.
"It is like cough and cold. Everybody has it here," says Dhal Chandra, who has been living in the area for 25 years.
Chandra's wife was diagnosed with asthma 2 years ago. "Earlier there were fewer factories but now the whole area is covered with them," she says.
She explains how the families here cannot go about their day like they used to some years ago.
"You will not see children playing outside. We can't even hang our clothes for drying on the terrace anymore as they turn black," she says. That's because of soot from the factories.
The family has now stopped expecting guests at their home. "They say they fall ill after coming here. We had a marriage function recently and my brother-in-law, who had come, has not recovered yet," says Kirsan, Dhal Chandra's son.
The locals claim that they have complained to police and the sub-divisional magistrate several times but no action is taken as the factory owners bribe them.
"If someone comes to check these factories during the day, they cannot work then. And in that case they operate the whole night," says Shiv Babu, a worker at a general store.
The DPCC had in April asked around 17 factories to close down and issued show cause notices to more than 105 factories, asking them why they don't have proper clearances and pollution control devices.
When contacted, S M Ali, Special Secretary, Environment in Delhi government, said, "We had issued show cause notices and are waiting for their reply. The process is on and the department will take suitable action after that."
When told about the notices, the residents allege that even if officials come and seal some factories, they again start functioning. They say they have lost hope that anything will change.
"There have been cases here when people go to sleep at night but are found dead in the morning due to the choking from the smoke. We have spent our life till now living in these conditions and the rest of the life will also go like this," says Barfi. Reported by Deccan Herald 48 minutes ago.
Welcome to Mandoli, on the edge of the capital, where when the locals complain of the heavy pollution, they are offered just one solution by the factory owners: leave your homes and relocate.
Here the demarcation between the residential and industrial areas is blurred. According to the Master Plan of Delhi, industries should no longer be allowed in residential areas but the guidelines do not seem to be followed here.
In fact, here there is hardly a distance of 50 metres between the residential colonies and factories operating 24/7.
As one enter the bylanes of this 'border town' in northeast Delhi, the vision gets blurred due to the smoke billowing out of factories lined one after another. While most of them are locked from outside, sounds of machines and voices of workers can be heard inside.
"Most of them are illegal, operating without any licence. They remain locked during the day and mostly operate during the night. If you come here at night, you will see that the situation gets worse," says Shyam Babu, a resident of Prem Nagar.
Babu is in-charge of the Aam Aadmi Party's local social media team and works under the constituency MLA Fateh Singh.
"The MLA has written various letters to the government and even met Environment Minister Imran Hussain a few days ago. Even I have written to the Chief Minister's Office but haven't received any reply till now," he said.
A survey by Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) in January had found 173 polluting units and gross violations of pollution control norms in the area.
These are mainly highly polluting chemical, rubber, metal and plastic factories. There are also units recycling batteries, and making electrical spare parts and copper wire.
These units often use coal to fuel furnaces, releasing fumes and ash into the residential colonies. Open dumping, spilling of chemicals, and waste burning is also a common problem.
"There are days when coughing is uncontrollable and there are bouts of vomiting. When we complain, the factory owners tell us to leave the area and go. This is our own plot and we have been living here for 20 years, so where will we go. But now we feel trapped here," says Barfi, a resident of Mandoli's Radha Vihar.
While there are no statistics on people suffering from asthma in the area, residents say it's a common problem.
"It is like cough and cold. Everybody has it here," says Dhal Chandra, who has been living in the area for 25 years.
Chandra's wife was diagnosed with asthma 2 years ago. "Earlier there were fewer factories but now the whole area is covered with them," she says.
She explains how the families here cannot go about their day like they used to some years ago.
"You will not see children playing outside. We can't even hang our clothes for drying on the terrace anymore as they turn black," she says. That's because of soot from the factories.
The family has now stopped expecting guests at their home. "They say they fall ill after coming here. We had a marriage function recently and my brother-in-law, who had come, has not recovered yet," says Kirsan, Dhal Chandra's son.
The locals claim that they have complained to police and the sub-divisional magistrate several times but no action is taken as the factory owners bribe them.
"If someone comes to check these factories during the day, they cannot work then. And in that case they operate the whole night," says Shiv Babu, a worker at a general store.
The DPCC had in April asked around 17 factories to close down and issued show cause notices to more than 105 factories, asking them why they don't have proper clearances and pollution control devices.
When contacted, S M Ali, Special Secretary, Environment in Delhi government, said, "We had issued show cause notices and are waiting for their reply. The process is on and the department will take suitable action after that."
When told about the notices, the residents allege that even if officials come and seal some factories, they again start functioning. They say they have lost hope that anything will change.
"There have been cases here when people go to sleep at night but are found dead in the morning due to the choking from the smoke. We have spent our life till now living in these conditions and the rest of the life will also go like this," says Barfi. Reported by Deccan Herald 48 minutes ago.