India's e-waste problem: Letters to The EDITOR

India's e-waste problem

Mobile phones are ubiquitous in India, a necessary requirement to carry out everyday tasks such as banking and identity verification. This convenience has its flipside. Disposing e-waste (electronic and electrical items) is a complex challenge as it contains heavy metals and other toxic substances. In India, it's been largely confined to the informal sector which does not have the skills or resources to deal with this challenge. This translates into serious environmental damage, especially in cities which handle a disproportionate share of e-waste.

Not only is the e-waste generated domestically not receiving adequate attention, field research indicates that e-waste from more affluent countries is also being imported into India for disposal. This problem needs urgent attention at all levels of government as the eventual price will be paid in terms of deteriorating health. The economic summit at Davos has flagged the problem too. A set of UN entities put the matter in perspective there, by observing that the world generates 50 million tonnes of e-waste a year, which exceeds by weight all commercial airliners ever made. In India one estimate is that the country has a capacity to dismantle and recycle only 20% of its total e-waste.

There is a regulatory framework to deal with safe disposal of e-waste but its impact has been limited. For instance, the legal responsibility on smartphone manufacturers to help in waste management hardly works in practice. This perhaps explains why the informal sector handles most of the e-waste. Given the link between human health and e-waste disposal there is an urgent case for government to regulate an effective upgrade of the recycling ecosystem. It will save healthcare costs and improve quality of life.

Satish Kumar Sarma,

Kalyanpur, Biswanath Chariali.

Corruption of State BJP and LS poll

When Nilamoni Sen Deka, the then Agriculture Minister in Tarun Gogoi's Cabinet, was at the pinnacle of corruption there was a hullabaloo among the public and bowing down to the public demand the chief minister (Gogoi) had to drop the tainted minister from his Cabinet, cutting him to size. Now, the same play of corruption is enacted by Naba Doley, the Panchayat and Rural Development Minister in Sarbananda Sonowal's Cabinet. We salute this extraordinarily brilliant minister. All those from his family who could acquire jobs in P&RD are also extraordinarily brilliant as the minister himself candidly conceded that the appointments were given on the basis of merit. Some other departments in the State government are also sunk deep into the morass of corruption .We can take into reckoning — Excise, Forest and Public Relations – to name a few. About Excise and Forest departments less said is the better. But in Public Relations, taking full advantage of the tight schedule of the minister concerned (CM), a particular officer opens a market for selling posts of the department.

This is the happy situation in the State BJP which is girding up its loin to ensure win of party candidates in the forthcoming general elections.

Ashok Bordoloi,

Dibrugarh.

Poor drainage and road condition

I would like to draw the attention of the Government authorities towards the poor and pathetic condition of the drainage (liquid waste) system at the Barikachuburi Muslim Gaon in Tezpur town. Some houses in this area are connected with drains but not with proper slopes. There are many houses where there are no drains for water outlet at all and are in a very unhygienic condition. Secondly, the main road of this village is in a pathetic condition. The road turns to a river-cum-pond during the rainy season which is about to come soon. In our area, the road has neither been pitched nor repaired for decades. Almost all roads of Tezpur town area have been repaired with cemented blocks in the last few months, but our area has been left untouched due to which people face many difficulties. School going children fall and get injured. The authorities concerned should take immediate measures for construction of the drain and repair of the road.

Asif Iqbal,

Barikachuburi, Tezpur.

Intelligence input and timely action

It is discussed and observed very often nowadays that in case of most of the incidents intelligence inputs are sent to the authorities concerned before occurrence of incidents. But the authorities concerned do not take action promptly. This may be either due to laxity or lack of preparedness of the implementing agencies or laxity of the intelligent agencies in sending inputs in proper place and time. Many incidents occour leading to killing many people, besides damaging property. I would, therefore, like to request the government and the authorities concerned to ponder over as to how this problem can be mitigated and overcome.

Putul Sarma,

Bamgaon, Biswanath Chariali.