Globalising India Community Perspectives on Pollution and Health in Ghaziabad Linda Waldman Ramila Bisht Ritu Priya Abhinav Rajashree Kumud Bushra Yasir Fiona Marshall amp Pritpal Singh ID: 244788
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Peri-Urbanism in Globalising India: Community Perspectives on Pollution and Health in Ghaziabad
Linda Waldman, Ramila Bisht, Ritu Priya, Abhinav, Rajashree, Kumud, Bushra, Yasir, Fiona Marshall & Pritpal SinghSlide2
Aim
:
To
understand diverse perspectives on health and risk in Karhera, Ghaziabad.
2Slide3
MethodsFieldwork between August 2014 - May 2015.
Survey
of 1788 households
examined household composition, caste, primary & secondary sources of livelihood, house and land ownership. 20 in-depth interviews, plus other participatory mapping and photomapping exercises3Slide4
Industrial areas near Karhera4Slide5
Pollution
Relocation of Delhi’s
hazardous and polluting industries in
peri-urban Ghaziabad (Agarwal et.al., 2006).Hindon River and underground water polluted by industries.
Large scale extraction of water for urban use lowers the water table
.
“
Gandapani
” drain water now used for irrigation.
5Slide6
Agriculture in Karhera
Karhera’s original residents relied on agriculture
Loss of agricultural land; increasing
feminisation of agriculture; & decreasing animal husbandryIndustrialisation and factories led to increased in-migrancy Water shortages have altered cropping patterns and irrigation methods
6Slide7
Peri urban
7Slide8
Karhera, in Ghaziabad district
22350 residents in 2042 households in Karhera
Migrants from
Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Assam, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, Nepal.Different socio-cultural categories: caste (Dalit, Scheduled Tribe, Other Backward Caste, and sub-divisions of upper castes such as Brahmin, Kshatriya, and Kayastha), religions (Christian, Muslim, Jain and Hindu).8Slide9
Scientific & Policy Conceptualisations of Risk
Toxic chemical use in industrial production and u
rban
pollution dumped in Karhera (cf. Agarwal et.al., 2006).Scientific studies in Ghaziabad have demonstrated high concentrations of heavy metals; poor quality of groundwater and air pollution (Chadukdhara and Nema, 2012: Chabukdhara and Nema, 2013; Sajjad, Jyoti and Uddin, 2014). 9Slide10
Government recognition of polluted conditions1990s
Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board and array of other institution.
Environmental degradation began to be acknowledged.
1998The Central Ground Water Board (CGWB)excessive extraction and pollution of ground water
1999
The Central Ground Water Board (CGWB)
Overexploited area
2003, 2006
2010
The Central Ground Water Board (CGWB)
Dark
zone and/or critical zone.
2009
The Central Environment and Pollution Index (CEPI) report
The
third most critically polluted place in
India (
Air pollution)
2014
Central Pollution Control Board (
CPCB) report
One
of the 10 most polluted areas of
India (
Air and water pollution)
10Slide11
Emic Conceptualisations of Risk
Generally perceptions of risk are embedded in local cultural dynamics, identities and social relationships and shaped by socio-economic and cultural factors
(
cf. Douglas, Wildavsky, 1982; Wynne, 1992: Fisher, 2005; Gallaher et.al., 2013; Owusu, 2012).11Slide12
Half the upper-caste men and women draw a direct correlation between their health and the proximity of the factories, arguing -that the factories cause ill-healthDiabetes, Cancer, high [blood] pressure can be seen more [frequently]. There is a factory at the vicinity of this village [referring to a dye factory which
colours jeans and/or a rubber factory which burns rubber]. The smoke from this factory spreads into the village. Many a time, the villagers went to the factory to get the factory chimney closed. We have also approached police about this issue but no one listens to our plea. Possibly the smoke from this is responsible for increased cases of cancer in the village.
Women
: nausea, gastroenteritis, back pain, joint painLower-caste inhabitants also recognize the polluting effects of the factories, but do not link this with health issues12Slide13
Over half the upper-caste informants are uncomfortable with using ‘gandipani’ and with the consumption of produce.
The remainder do not see the spinach or exposure to the water as unhealthy.
Almost all
lower-caste inhabitants consume spinach grown in sewage water and do not identify associated health risks. 13Slide14
Lower-caste residents: Some people say that they won’t eat spinach grown in dirty water. But we won’t keep borrowing clean spinach from others every day. When we grow it at our field with dirty water, we consume the dirty spinach only.
We do not have a choice. There is no tube-well or boring [borehole] water. Out of desperation, the villagers have to use
gandapani
for irrigating their fields. What can people do if there is no clean water? We are all helpless. Everyone uses this gandapani in their fields.14Slide15
ConclusionKarhera is a diverse and heterogeneous peri-urban community with diverse
views on pollution, health and riskSocio-cultural and economic factors offer inadequate
explanation
Upper-caste members are either risk ‘deniers’ or risk ‘accepters’, lower-caste members are risk ‘deniers’, This reflects different survival strategies and the ambiguity of rapid urbanization?This ambiguity is echoed in formal government contexts, where scientific literature has informed government institutions, but not implementation. 15