504podcast_sohoni

This podcast is about the hazard-prone lives of rag pickers and scavengers of Deonar, Mumbai, who earn a livelihood by scavenging and selling junk from Asia’s biggest dumping ground. Their life span is significantly lower than the rest of the city and the incidence of fatal diseases is alarmingly high in Deonar. There is a lot that can change and that should change, but is not changing because of multiple reasons that include lack of political will, administrative roadblocks (bureaucracy) and market economy forces. The podcast will describe the existing situation in Deonar, some attempts to change it, why they failed, and finally, some suggestions on what might work.