Ashay Anand
Upon reaching Seelampur market near the slums we spotted shops selling plastic and metal parts strewn off CPU's and computer monitors. Screws, nuts and bolts were also being sold off along with the metal covering and the outer plastic body of computers and washing machines in these shops that were present in the market.Upon asking them about the market where CPU's and chips were sold they pointed us to the scrap market situated near the drain and sandwiched by slums on all sides.
Talking to the scrap shop owner he told us how the computers were ripped off of their glass screens and plastic and metal body first and the internal components were taken inside for further recycling. The shopkeeper also quoted that ' No one used safety equipment for any process and e-waste was ordinary junk and not at all dangerous'. This line was parroted by almost all the shopkeepers in the vicinity.
Heading further inside we found out the murky back yard where the wires and motherboards were disposed off. Talking to a scrap collector at that place we came to know that working with e-waste for the past 7 years had caused him no health problems and that he earned good money (Rs. 7000) per month to feed his family of seven Most of the workers who work with the scrap are migrant labourers from UP, Bihar, Rajasthan and other Indian states. Scrapping E- Waste is much more lucrative than ordinary scrap and yeilds much more money.
Talking to the scrap dealer sitting outside we came to know that they paid fixed allowance to the police to continue. Children roamed freely through the junkyard and the waste was flowed to the adjoining nullah(drain) that was as murky as it could have been. Many of the children were also employed in scrapping computer chips.Moreover we also found the sides of the drain covered with disposed e-waste.
On Saturday, September 22 2012 a team of 9 members that included Ashay Anand, Ankit Kumar Vihaan, Rajlakshmi Dutta, Manu Seth, Rahul Raghav, Richa Singh, Achal Bansal, Raushan Kumar and Kumarjeeb Pegu left on a fact finding trip to Seelampur. Seelampur was preferred over other areas as almost all the reports regarding piling up of e-waste in Delhi was primarily connected to the slums of Seelampur. The group reached Seelampur at 2:30pm and started finding the way to the e-waste workshop of Delhi.
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| The team that went to field trip photographed by Rahul Raghav |
Talking to the scrap shop owner he told us how the computers were ripped off of their glass screens and plastic and metal body first and the internal components were taken inside for further recycling. The shopkeeper also quoted that ' No one used safety equipment for any process and e-waste was ordinary junk and not at all dangerous'. This line was parroted by almost all the shopkeepers in the vicinity.
Heading further inside we found out the murky back yard where the wires and motherboards were disposed off. Talking to a scrap collector at that place we came to know that working with e-waste for the past 7 years had caused him no health problems and that he earned good money (Rs. 7000) per month to feed his family of seven Most of the workers who work with the scrap are migrant labourers from UP, Bihar, Rajasthan and other Indian states. Scrapping E- Waste is much more lucrative than ordinary scrap and yeilds much more money.
Talking to the scrap dealer sitting outside we came to know that they paid fixed allowance to the police to continue. Children roamed freely through the junkyard and the waste was flowed to the adjoining nullah(drain) that was as murky as it could have been. Many of the children were also employed in scrapping computer chips.Moreover we also found the sides of the drain covered with disposed e-waste.
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| Children playing near computer scraps in Seelampur |
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