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A RIVER OF HAZE-NORTH-INDIA

35 images Created 20 Mar 2018

Air Pollution, north west India.

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  • Varanasi, India. A boy headed to school covers his nose and mouth when he walks by the early morning street sweeper in an older Varanasi neighborhood near the Ganges. In 2016 Indiaspend set up a network of air quality monitors in Uttar Pradesh alone to study air pollution outside of Delhi. The result was a report titled "Varanasi Chokes". The Central Pollution Control Board's 2015 data released in 2016 noted that out of the 227 days the air was monitored there were zero good days.
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  • Overview of Delhi from the Ghazipur landfill in the early morning, November 2017. The Ghazipur dump spreads over 70 acres and is 50 meters high, the limit is supposed to be 20 meters. One of four main garbage dumps in Delhi the Ghazipur landfill opened in 1984. It reached its saturation point in 2002 but it is still operating.
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  • Gariya, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh, India.<br />
Rama, age 45 suffers from severe joint deformities and is now blind in one eye. The health problems in the village started 20 years ago. Before that everyone was fine. It has just been getting worse for the last 10 years. Everyone reports having chest pain, chronic stomach pains, a lot of back pain, joint pains, pains in their knees.  The Singrauli district in the northeastern part of Madhya Pradesh and Sonbhadra district in Uttar Pradesh was a forested region populated by farmers and laborers. A 2012 report by the Center for Science and Environment based in New Delhi sampled water, soil, cereals in the areas and villages around the reservoir. Most of the drinking water was found not suitable for drinking. The results of the water, soil and fish sample testing indicate pollution due to mercury, arsenic, and fluoride.
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  • Delhi, India. Traffic in Delhi just after 5 pm at the start of rush hour. Emissions from too many vehicles in the city are one of the causes of the air pollution in Delhi. The Hindustan Times has a daily air quality site with a map that you can check out the air quality in a number of Indian cities.<br />
http://airquality.hindustantimes.com
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  • Delhi, India. Nehru Park is a popular place for walkers and joggers in Delhi on an early, misty November morning despite the high level of air pollution. Nehru Park, in the diplomatic area of New Delhi, attracts many walkers and joggers to its well-kept paths and lawns.
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  • Punjab, near Sunam village, India. A worker trudges down the road as rice stubble burns in a field in Punjab. Though the National Green Tribunal, a government court to handle environmental issues, bans crop burning in Punjab and Haryana many farmers continue to burn their crop stubble in the fall. Crop burning in Punjab and Haryana contribute to the pollution levels in Delhi and the region.
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  • Varanasi, India. Women sift cement at a brick kiln factory on the outskirts of Varanasi, India. In the fall of 2017 the government, due to heightened levels of pollution, shut down brick kilns and it is suggested that the kilns operate only from January to June. In June of 2017, the Central Pollution Control Board ordered the brick kilns to convert their existing kilns to an “induced draft zigzag” firing system by the winter of 2017-18. These guidelines have existed since 2015 in the northern areas (NCR) near Delhi because of the severe air pollution but the shift has been slow according to Down To Earth, an Indian magazine that addresses the environment and climate change. The plan, drawn up by the Environmental Pollution (Prevention) Control Authority, identified brick kilns as “one of the major sources of air pollution in the region”. <br />
A few of the brick factories have converted their kilns using a zig-zag firing system which is a more efficient design and reduces CO2 and black carbon emissions.
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  • Kanpur, India. Inside a leather tannery, the director holds up the corner of a hide that has been treated with lye and chromium. When the leather is treated with chromium it takes 36 hours to become stable and can be stored for years. In contrast, natural vegetable tanning takes 25-30 days. The Indian leather industry accounts for around 12.93% of the world’s leather production of hides/skins.This tannery produces shoes, belts and horse saddles. The leather in this tannery is either buffalo hides from India or cowhides that are imported from other countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh. India is one of the world’s top five producers of leather, with skins coming from cows that die of natural causes or from the legal slaughter of buffalo. Total leather and leather products export from India stood at US$ 5.07 billion in 2019-20.
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  • Varanasi, India. A man tends his coal pot that he is setting up to sell tea in the back alleys near the ghats along the Ganges River. According to The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), nearly 40% of India's air pollution comes from domestic fuel burning.
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  • Jamshila Bina, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh, India<br />
Subas Byastik, 16 years old. When he was twelve Subas noticed cracks on the inside of his hands. Now four years later his hands are wasting away and turning black. He does not work because he cannot use his hands properly. As we talked he started to cry. The local doctors have no answers and he can’t afford other healthcare. What we know is that he lives near a number of thermal electric plants in the region and that it and the water supply to his village is polluted, most likely with heavy metals. This are is known as the “Energy Capital of India” because after large coal deposits were found many thermal power stations opened. Chemical plants and other industrial operations also came to the area.
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  • Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh, India<br />
Smokestacks at a thermal power plant near Anpara, Utter Pradesh, India belch smoke, and soot. The Singrauli district in the northeastern part of Madhya Pradesh and Sonbhadra district in Uttar Pradesh was a forested region populated by farmers and laborers. It is now known as the “Energy Capital of India” because after large coal deposits were found in the area many thermal power stations opened. Chemical plants and other industrial operations also came to the area.
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  • Kanpur, India. A tannery worker pulls buffalo or cow hides out of a huge drum that has been tanned using natural vegetable tanning without the use of chemicals. “There are 402 registered tanneries in Kanpur but only 258 are still in operation. Kanpur used to be known as “Manchester of the East” because of all the textiles during British times. Only the leather industries are still running. In 2014 the prime minister made this area a “priority sector” with the idea of the “Made in India Program” to promote domestic enterprises.” Nalyar Jamal, General Secretary of the Leather Industries Welfare Association. The priority areas include cars, chemicals, information technology, pharmaceuticals, textiles, ports and aviation, travel, and rail, among many others fields.
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  • Varanasi, India. Neighborhoods near the Ghats on the Ganges are a popular spot for early morning breakfast and tea for locals and visitors to the Ganges. Not far from Assi Ghat a vendor prepares his stall for breakfast setting up his coal pot first with cow dung then adding charcoal. A woman walks by with a young boy and complains to the vendor all the smoke he is producing is getting into her eyes. “You are producing too much smoke and it is getting into my eyes.” As she continues to complain he replies in a somewhat amiable way, “Don’t worry you will clean out your eyes because your polluted tears will be coming out and your eyes will be clean." According to The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), nearly 40% of India's air pollution comes from domestic fuel burning.
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  • Delhi, India. Commercial cooking is a significant cause of air pollution in Delhi. Gali Pranthe wali, a narrow street in the Chandni Chowk area, is one of the busiest food streets in Delhi. The specialties are the different types of paratha, an Indian bread rolled and blended with different fillings and spices and then fried.
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  • Safdarjung Hospital, Delhi. Renu Mathur, age 30, an outpatient in the burn dressing unit suffered severe burns when she accidentally spilled petrol on herself lighting a fire to burn her garbage. Mathur is having the bandages changed. Waste burning was banned by the National Green Tribunal in December of 2016 with a fine of Rs. 5,000, about $77 USD for simple waste burning and Rs. 25,000, about $385 USD for bulk burning.
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  • Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh, India.  Smokestacks from a thermal power plant near Shakti Nagar, Utter Pradesh, India belch smoke, and soot. A recently released study by the HEI has found that coal combustion and household burning were the single largest sources of air pollution-related health impacts in India in 2015. Overall air pollution contributed to nearly 1.1 million deaths in 2015 in India, coal combustion from thermal electric power plants and industry contributed to 169,000 of those deaths.
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  • Gariya, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh, India.<br />
Rama, age 45 suffers from severe joint deformities and is now blind in one eye. The health problems in the village started 20 years ago. Before that everyone was fine. It has just been getting worse for the last 10 years. Everyone reports having chest pain, chronic stomach pains, a lot of back pain, joint pains, pains in their knees. The Singrauli district in the northeastern part of Madhya Pradesh and Sonbhadra district in Uttar Pradesh was a forested region populated by farmers and laborers. A 2012 report by the Center for Science and Environment based in New Delhi sampled water, soil, cereals in the areas and villages around the reservoir. Most of the drinking water was found not suitable for drinking. The results of the water, soil and fish sample testing indicate pollution due to mercury, arsenic, and fluoride.
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  • Gariya, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh, India<br />
Kevala Devi, age 35 with son Vishal, age 12. The health problems in the village started 20 years ago. Before that everyone was fine. It has just been getting worse for the last 10 years. Everyone reports having chest pain, chronic stomach pains, a lot of back pain, joint pains, pains in their knees. The Singrauli district in the northeastern part of Madhya Pradesh and Sonbhadra district in Uttar Pradesh was a forested region populated by farmers and laborers. Water tested in this village had high levels of fluoride. A 2012 report by the Center for Science and Environment based in New Delhi sampled water, soil, cereals in the areas and villages around the reservoir. The results of the water, soil and fish sample testing indicate pollution due to mercury, arsenic, and fluoride.
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  • Jajmau Road, Kanpur, India. Kanpur is known for its leather tanneries and many are located on or near Jajmau Road. Adnan Ahmad, age 4, shows off at a local tea shop across the street from his house in the heart of the leather tannery area. His father drives a small truck for a living. Most of the people who live in Jajmau area of Kanpur work for a tannery in some capacity.
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  • Pyundi Village near Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh., India. Irrigation ditches filled with water that has sewage and contaminated runoff from the tanneries is used to irrigate the crops. Villagers reported skin lesions and burning eyes due to the chemicals. Their crops are not producing because the water is so contaminated. They used to grow all there own vegetables and grains, now they have to go to the market to get fresh food. When they complained to the local government they told them to grow flowers instead. The government did build the village a new water tower by drilling deeper so their drinking water would be potable. The water is starting to smell and they fear it is getting contaminated again. Shivam Katiyar, age 18, said it was difficult to get married because no one wants to move there. He said they even filed a case in Delhi about the problems with the water. "If you are born here it is difficult to just get up and move," he said.
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  • Chilika Daad , Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh, India.  Gita Bharti is drying wheat on her neighbor's roof in Chilika Daad with the power plant behind her.  She sifts out the stones and has it ground to make bread. The roof is coated with black soot from the power plant. Behind this home and the village is a huge ash dump. “When they are dumping coal there is a lot of dust and particles. More people in the village are coming down with asthma, tuberculosis, serious coughs,” Hira Lal the homeowner said.
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  • Varanasi, India. A tour boat for hire takes an afternoon cruise on the Ganges passing by the Manikarnika Ghat one of the holiest of the Ghats and one of the oldest for cremation in Varanasi. The fires burn here 24/7 all year round and more than 100 bodies are burned here each day. It is believed that if you are cremated at Manikarnika you will bypass the cycle of rebirth and are guaranteed to go to heaven. Between industrial waste, sewage from town and cremation rites the Ganges is a polluted mess.
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  • Dasaswamedh Ghat, Varanasi. After the sacred Aarti ritual is performed each evening at the Dasaswamedh Ghat devotees cup their hands over the flames and to receive the blessing of the river goddess. The word 'aarti' means something that removes the darkness and is often called the “ceremony of light”.  As one of the most sacred cities in India many people come to the banks of the Ganges River in Varanasi to pray, bathe and participate in sacred purification ceremonies. Between industrial waste, sewage from town and cremation rites the Ganges is a polluted mess.
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  • Workers bring in the rice harvest in the village of Anpara next to the Anpara Thermal Power plants, Sonbhadra, India. The rice is covered in coal soot.<br />
Walking around the village everything is covered in black soot. I spoke with some residents including the current village chief, Premchand Yado, who has lived in the village since before the power plant came in 1980. Villagers started noticing health problems in the early 90’s about ten years after the power plant opened.  The last ten years things have increasingly gotten worse. The power company has also increased cutting down trees and this seems to have added to the problems. At first, some years ago, they noticed allergies, sneezing coughing. Then a number of people started getting skin problems. People report trouble breathing, premature eyesight loss, fatigue, and weakness. Women report that their menstruation cycles are sporadic or non-existent. People report gut issues and cramping.  Diabetes and childhood diabetes has increased as well. A doctor from Benares Hindu University has diagnosed kidney problems in some of the residents. Black coal coats the trees and plants.
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  • Anpara, Uttar Pradesh. Pari Yadar, age seven, has prematurely gray hair. She lives in Anpara, a village next to Anpara Thermal Power Plant, Sonbhadra, India. Walking around the village everything is covered in black soot. I spoke with some residents including the current village chief, Premchand Yado, who has lived in the village since before the power plant came in 1980. Villagers started noticing health problem after about ten years in the early 90’s. The last ten years things have increasingly gotten worse. The power company has also increased cutting down trees and this seems to have added to the problems. Years ago at first, they noticed allergies, sneezing coughing. Then a number of people started getting skin problems. People report trouble breathing, premature eyesight loss, fatigue, and weakness. Women report that their menstruation cycles are sporadic or non-existent. People report gut issues and cramping.  Diabetes and childhood diabetes has increased as well. A doctor from Benares Hindu University has diagnosed kidney problems in some of the residents. Black coal coats the trees and plants. The Singrauli district in the northeastern part of Madhya Pradesh and Sonbhadra district in Uttar Pradesh was a forested region populated by farmers and laborers. In 1961 a dam was built on the river Rihand forming the largest man-made lake in India, the Govind Ballabh Pant Sagar. What followed was the development of huge coal mining basins primarily in Madhya Pradesh. It is now known as the “Energy Capital of India” because after large the coal deposits were found many thermal power stations opened. Chemical plants and other industrial operations also came to the area. Most of the coal mines are at the border of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh just to the west of the reservoir.
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  • Varanasi, India. A woman prepares her coal pot to set up to make morning tea where small shops near the River Ganges open for local residents and tourists. According to The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), nearly 40% of India's air pollution comes from domestic fuel burning.
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  • Jamshila Bina, Uttar Pradesh, India.<br />
Anita Lalepal is 15 years old. She was born with this birth defect. Her mother, Rukman Devi, age 35 a single parent, takes care of her with the help of her neighbor, Mina Vishkarma. Anita spends most of her days on this cot under her outside “porch” when the weather is nice. Her mother Rukman suffers from a lot of pain in her body. She has a lot of pain in her knees and joints and back and has trouble getting up and down.
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  • Harhori village, near Gariya village, Uttar Pradesh<br />
Basapat, age 65 noticed that her feet were turning in about 8 years ago and it has continued. Her knees hurt a lot and it is very difficult for her to walk. First, she started bending over and she had pain in her feet. Then gradually she was not able to straighten up and then her feet started to turn in.  She just kept getting worse and did not know why.  She went to the local doctors and they told her it was just normal body pain.  They have the same source of water from the big damn. The water in this village is banned. Basapat has no money to seek other solutions. This area is now known as the “Energy Capital of India” because after large the coal deposits were found many thermal power stations opened. Chemical plants and other industrial operations also came to the area.
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  • Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh, India. A dusty street in Sonbhadra, India. The Singrauli district in the northeastern part of Madhya Pradesh and Sonbhadra district in Uttar Pradesh was a forested region populated by farmers and laborers. In 1961 a dam was built on the river Rihand forming the largest man-made lake in India, the Govind Ballabh Pant Sagar. What followed was the development of huge coal mining basins primarily in Madhya Pradesh. It is now known as the “Energy Capital of India” because after large the coal deposits were found many thermal power stations opened. Trucks carrying coal occupy the roads and dust and soot are prevalent.
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