[Reader-list] Incineration of Waste will Throw Marginalized Communities like Yanadis out of Business

[Kabir Khan]

*Incineration of Waste will Throw MarginalizedCommunities like Yanadis out
of Business
<http://wastenarratives.com/2015/09/16/incineration-of-waste-will-throw-marginalized-communities-like-yanadis-out-of-business/>*
<http://wastenarratives.com/2015/09/16/incineration-of-waste-will-throw-marginalized-communities-like-yanadis-out-of-business/>


Guntur known for its chillies is set to become an important city. Residual
state of Andhra Pradesh, after creation of Telangana has chosen its capital
to be in the area between Guntur and Vijaywada. Rapid urbanization is on
its way. It is high time that the city starts upgrading its infrastructure
and pursues the path of inclusive growth. I’m here in Guntur at the
invitation of colleagues from Dalit Bahujan Resource Center (DBRC). They
work on entitlement based issues including land rights for oppressed
classes and marginalized communities.  Last year, they decided to engage
with wastepickers in both Vijaywada and Guntur.


Guntur, as per the estimates provided in the 2010 City Development Plan,
generates around 350 Metric tons of waste every day. Out of which 310 MT is
collected daily and sent off to the dump yard. Dump yard is located in
Naidupet and occupies 72 acres of land. The dumping site is placed at a
very scenic location, right at the bottom of hills with a small pond in
neighborhood, which by the way provides water for many residents in the
area.


To ‘scientifically’ manage the garbage mess Municipal body with state
government has proposed ‘waste to energy’ plant. The City development Plan
mentions that only 6% i.e. 20 MT of waste is recyclable, and rest is inert
and organic 31 and 63 percent respectively. Anyone who has studied waste
ecologies in India will call the estimated percentage of recyclables a
farce. Real time data availed from the sample of more than 12497 households
 in Bangalore, provided by Hasiru Dala, states that 68.5 percent of waste
is organic, 21 percent is recyclable and rest 10.5 percent is reject and
sanitary. Proportion of recyclable material is higher than the estimates
given by Municipal body. If that was not the case, city would not have had
3000 wastepickers running the informal waste economy on their shoulders.
The higher percentage of inert on paper will be helpful in strengthening
the argument for incineration, thus the proposition of waste to energy
plant. ‘Waste to energy’ is based on incineration technology and has severe
impacts on health, environment and economy. Instead of incineration a
stronger emphasis on recycling will create a ‘win- win’ situation. It will
help provide raw materials to the industry and support communities who are
engaged in wastepicking.


In case of Guntur most of the wastepickers, unlike many other Indian
cities, belong to ‘Schedule Tribe’ category. They are Yanadis, who were
once upon a time forest dwellers and were forced out of forest through push
and pull factors. Generations ago, they were based in Nellore and Chittoor
and now spread across the whole state. After leaving forest life, their
major vocation became hunting snakes and rats in the farm land, thus
helping the farmers save their crops. Many of them were also engaged in
scavenging. With changing times, their vocations have again changed but
their social and economic conditions are still worst. Due to societal
discrimination most of them live at the fringes of urban economy.

All the wastepickers we met in the dump-yard were Yanadis. When asked about
their conventional vocation, they all firmly said –wastepicking. As far as
their memories go, their parents and grandparents were picking and sorting
waste. In past they were based in Old Guntur- Balaji Nagar, once the
dump-yard there was shut, they moved to Naidupet.


All the workers from Yanadi community who pick and sort garbage from the
Naidupet stay few yards away. With temporary huts made out of palm leaves
and flex banners, they have created a small niche for themselves and call
it Ambedkar Nagar. It is an informal settlement with land belonging to
government. There is always threat of eviction looming on their head. Continued
here...
<http://wastenarratives.com/2015/09/16/incineration-of-waste-will-throw-marginalized-communities-like-yanadis-out-of-business/>






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Regards

कबीर/کبیر

Phone:00-91-96-63-427-315
Email: kabir.postbox at gmail.com
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