Urban poor Testify on impacts of Climate Change at a session held by Oxfam India - Concluding Comments

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The concluding session comprised of suggested solutions and recommendations from the jurors. These recommendations would finally be tabled in the last hearing to be held in Delhi. A final report would be submitted for deliberation at the Copenhagen climate change meet in December this year

Fr. Anthony Dias of the Xavier Institute of Social Research the testimonies have shown that the model of development needs to be examined.

Speaking of what this public hearing takes to Copenhagen, Aditi Kapoor of Oxfam India spoke of sustainable development must be equitous, and we must take both issues of development and environment together. From this city hearing we see that Mumbai is a microcosm of the world situation, where we can see relationships between the developed and the so called developing sections and it shows that the nature of development should reduce the emissions, at the local level people have to be empowered to do their bit at a decentralized level, and that we must be aware of the options and negotiations of the global level and make our views heard.

Extracts from Depositions

Sushila Sable: Ragpicker

We ragpickers, are generally homeless or live in slums, but help clean up waste. From 5 am we start picking, and manage to pick around 50 to 60 kgs. There are about 20,000 women ragpickers in Mumbai alone. With the help of Stree Mukti Sangathna, we also now help recycle wet waste into compost. Under the Stree Mukti We, under SMS, we recyle wet waste into compost.

Felix DSouza, Vasai vikas sanstha,

From 1990, as a result of urbanisation and expansion of Mumbai, people have had to seek housing in Vasai. These places are advertised as green places, this itself is creating a concrete mass in an earlier Green Vasai. These concreate spaces need lots of water, and water is drawn from wells, and the traditional wells are running dry. Vasai is now known as a land mafia dominated area.

We are not against development. But we are opposed to destruction development, which is mainly the development of concrete habitat. We are looking for a sustainable development where our traditional fruit and trees and tradition fishing,

Ajay Kumar, Homeless

There are about 1 lakh homeless people in mumbai, and do various jobs like catering, working in hotels, rag-pickers., weddings and other odd jobs. Poor people are picking a lot of the waste. But they are being evicted, as the homeless don’t have any recognition.

In the rainy season, about 40 to 50 people homeless die every time there is flood. Daily two or three people do die in anycase.

Suresh Gawli is a chappal repairer in Andheri. Chappal repairers also make footwear, and they who do not use heavy chemicals, electricity. That means that they work and provide valuable service to the city without polluting the city. Recently, we have been displaced by the new hawking zone rules. We need to be near where people are being shifted to places where people will have to commute and spend more than what the footwear repair will cost them. The government policy seems to be favouring the bigger factories and corporate footwear system which are bigger polluters and have a larger carbon footprint..

Jamila Shankar Mote, slum dweller near Mankhurd on Water

A sixty foot wide nalla passed through our area. It bring in all the waste and garbage of the city. Waste and cotton is burned near these nallas. Further we are within one and half km from the dumping ground. The smell is so much, that when we are eating we have to get up.. We don't have any dispensary or health facilities close by. 50 out of 100 will have some form of TB because of bad water, dirty sewage.

Neville Dsouza: In the Borovili- Gorai belt , we have 10 villages. 70% people are fishermen in about sixty fishing communities having a rich traditional and culture of their own distinct culture.

In the name of development all the creeks and lowlands are being invaded by development.. and filling and beautification projects, modernisation projects in the name of making Mumbai a modern city, has destroyed the mangroves. Also the water, creeks, and shores are polluted , with chemicals, sewage, dirt. fishing is affected.

Santhosh Thorat from Mankhurd Saathenagar.. 23 years old.. in Mumbai..

I have seeing a big difference in Mumbai.. They say that the poor are responsible for the dirt of mumbai. The Poor build the buildings. Our houses are made of sticks and recycled materials. Our houses dont have Acs. Earlier we use to go out when we felt hot. Now we can't go out as it is very polluted. At best we can put on a fan...

Lourdes Nunnes

IN the peri-uban area,Uttan , Dongri , Gorai., we have the following communities: Kolis doing fishing, Agriculturists, and Agri samaj working in Salt pans.

I have seen that the Rainfall has become eratic. It rains for a few days and then there is drought. This is a major problem for cultivation. Many people have moved from Agriculture. Land is becoming non-cultivable, and People are selling their land to middle man. People are selling off their livelihood. The sold land is used by these parties to construct building, resorts, and the resulting development is destructive.

Dumping ground has created a major problem. The entire area is surrounded by traditional villages. As a citizen our Fundamental right to a clean air. And this is being taken away from us by the dumping ground. We have to fight for clean air as it has been destroyed by the dumping ground.

Continued from: Urban poor Testify on impacts of Climate Change at a session held by Oxfam India - I

Also Read: Urban poor Testify on impacts of Climate Change at a session held by Oxfam India - Background

Author: Amit Shanbhag | Published Oct 26, 2009 | 02:08 PM