Mollar Bheri pollution turns toxic

KOLKATA: Mollar Bheri that has been the waste dumping site of tonnes of daily waste from Salt Lake, New Town and Rajarhat area for years has become a dangerous environmentally hazardous area, emitting dangerous toxic waste as revealed by a study conducted by Toxics Link, a Delhi based environment NGO. The study shows several people residing in the surrounding area suffering from breathing and other ailments.Around 200 metric tonne of solid waste is generated and dumped daily at Mollar bheri from Salt Lake and its surrounding areas only.
A survey conducted by Toxics Link during the period of mid-2014 to end of 2015 shows that with such huge accumulation of waste in the area over the years, the dumping ground is now fully strewn with plastic bottles, bags, chairs, vegetable peels, thermocol, used syringes, saline bottles, construction rubble and other such waste materials. During their survey, officials of Toxics Link did not found any vermin-compost plant set up at the place to segregate waste. “We have found that the area is easily accessible to village children who roam around to collect useful materials from the waste and local residents from the nearby bheri areas collect reusable products from the waste for their own use.