Chandigarh, September 22
Heaps of plastic bottles fished out by scavengers from the garbage at the Dadu Majra dumping
site, bely claims of authorities of strictly following the government guidelines on biomedical waste management.
Even the pricks the children get from the needles, that come in ample with the hospital waste does not deter them, as one sack full of the plastic bottles, fetches Rs 30 from the scrap shops in the adjoining areas. “ It is the yellow vehicle from the PGI, which is the most sought after as we get a lot of plastic bottles from there,” says six-year-old Seema excitedly.
These children are not just familiar with the fact that the yellow MC dumper brings waste from the PGI, but they also know the number of rounds it makes in a day and the time when vehicle comes. “PGI ki pili gaddi ke liye to sab bache jaan deten hain,” is how 11-year-old Badshah echoes the sentiments of the children, who eagerly await the arrival of the vehicle with sacks in their hands.
“It is not PGI alone from where we get unshredded plastic bottles, but a number of private clinics and nursing homes also do not undertake proper disposal of their waste,” reveals the driver of the MC dumper, which comes from PGI. What is even more serious is the fact that syringes with needles are also carelessly thrown in with the garbage, a testimony of which is the prick marks on fingers of practically every child , who is into the business of selling plastic bottles from hospitals.
Though, the Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32 and General Hospital have installed proper biomedical waste management plants, but despite having its own incinerator and shredder, it is surprising how the plastic waste from the PGI finds it way out, leading to its unauthorised reuse. “We ensure proper disposal of all kinds of biomedical waste as per the guidelines laid down by the government in this connection,” stated PGI authorities. The waste generated at PGI is about two kg per bed daily, with the number of beds being 1,300.
However, those working at the incinerator and shredder at the PGI admitted that at times the plastic waste goes out unshredded, though they said this was rare. As per government guidelines all plastic waste, including bottles, IV sets, Ryle’s tube, urinary bags, chest bags and catheters have to be given chemical treatment with hypochloride solution to ensure disinfection, after which these have to be shredded to prevent unauthorised reuse.
“Whenever there is a storm or heavy rain, the streets in Dadu Majra, are strewn with cotton, dressings and other material soaked with blood, leading to filthy and unhygienic conditions ,” complains a doctor running a private clinic here. The locals rue that it is not just the filth which is a problem for them but the fumes from the burning garbage makes breathing difficult. Doctors say that almost 40 per cent of the people in the area suffer from asthma, tuberculosis and other chest diseases, as a result of the fumes and smoke from the dumping site.
Former president of the Chandigarh unit of Indian Medical Association, Dr G.S. Kochhar , who has been closely associated with the task of proper disposal of biomedical waste from nursing homes and private clinics in the city said the services of an agency had been hired to perform the task.
“We collect waste from 110 nursing homes and private clinics in the city and take the part to be incinerated to PGI, while the plastic waste is sent to the Industrial Unit for shredding,” revealed Mr Inderjeet Singh, from India Waste Energy Limited.
