Versova Koliwada; An Overview of the Solid waste accumulation

Bombay61, Urbanists

Authors: Alicia Bell, Bombay 61 Studio

The beach along Versova Koliwada

The beach along Versova Koliwada, 2 days after celebrating the 100^th week of beach clean-up in September 2017

The highest concentration of waste in Versova Koliwada is found on its beach and the streets which surround it, especially underneath fish drying areas. But important amounts of waste can also be found within the streets and public spaces inside the village. Waste management is therefore an issue which should be looked at within the village as well. That is why we decided to carry out some fieldwork inside the streets of Versova Koliwada to better understand where this waste is coming from. We did some fieldwork observations to map the dumps and streets containing important amounts of waste. We also interviewed local scrap dealers and inhabitants to find out more about the waste collecting system and people’s general attitude to waste.

Versova Koliwada is a neighbourhood composed of densely packed buildings lining narrow streets. Most of its 50,000 inhabitants are koli fishermen living in houses to which floors have been added over the years as the kolis were earning money from their trade. Several four or five storeys-high buildings have also been built in the village. Throughout the years, migrants have arrived in Versova Koliwada and have established themselves in informal settlements all along the outskirts of the village, some leading directly to the beach. Most of these are not recognised by the BMC.

AN OUTLOOK OF WASTE COLLECTION IN KOLIWADA

Waste is collected daily by the BMC whose workers pass through the streets and call for inhabitants to bring out and give them their waste. The collection happens only once a day which has led several inhabitants to complain for several reasons. They might not always be at home at the time of the collection, and they do not always want to keep their waste for an entire day, if it is smelly for example. The collection does not happen exactly at the same time and inhabitants have said the collectors walk by too quickly without always giving them the time to bring out their waste. For these reasons, people have taken up the habit of throwing out their waste on the beach or onto one of the many informal dumps that can be found throughout the village. It is important to note that the municipal body does not however collect waste from people living in informal settlements (migrants) as they are not recognised as “legal” residents. These people also end up disposing the waste in the open spaces around.

Waste management is completed by rag pickers who either pick up valuable items from dumps or collect them directly from people’s houses in exchange of garlic. They then sell these items to scrap dealers who send them to Dharavi to be recycled. These informal workers are therefore vital to the recycling of waste. However, certain items such as plastic bags, plastic wrappers or clothes for example do not get much value from the recycling industry. These items are therefore particularly problematic as they often get dumped without being later taken care of by informal workers. This issue is even more significant as most of the waste found on the beach consists of these items of low value.

Sweeping of the streets is undertaken daily by the BMC. The main streets of Versova Koliwada are mostly pretty clean but small debris often remains at the side, which have been pushed there by sweepers. However certain specific streets, mostly on the outskirts of the village, are covered in waste. Dumps can also be found every now and then, as previously mentioned. Certain small alleyways which give direct access to only a small number of houses are very clean as they are swept both by the BMC and their inhabitants. On the other hand, some of the narrower streets are too small for people to go through or are not used to access any buildings and are covered in waste. Many interviewed inhabitants have said they believed Versova Koliwada could be cleaner and wished the BMC would get rid of the dumps that can be found in the neighbourhood.

Along with this fieldwork, the Bombay61 team recently carried out a month-long experiment in Versova Koliwada where we collected waste from people’s homes on a door-to-door basis. With this experiment we wanted to raise awareness about pollution and the importance of waste segregation and analyse the waste generated to understand if recycling in Versova Koliwada could be sustainable.

What kinds of spaces attract waste?

1. The surface of the ground has an impact on the quantity of waste found on a street.

- Some types of surfaces can be easier to clean – like stone or smooth tarmac – than others on which waste can get stick to or get trapped – like sand, gravel or damaged surfaces;

- A damaged surface can give the impression that it is dirty;

- Damaged surfaces can also encourage people to dump waste as they feel it is neglected anyway.

Streets leading to the beach filled with waste, with a big concentration under the fish drying areas

2. Many dumps can be seen in open spaces throughout the village. These dumps are mainly found:

- At crossroads

- Inside and around the many abandoned plots of land that can be found in Versova Koliwada

A dump at crossroads

Dump around abandoned land

Dump in Alleyways

3. Around red electric boxes. This is increased furthermore by the fact that these boxes are often found at crossroads and/or in front of abandoned plots of land.

Dumps surrounding construction sites and red electric boxes are also encouraged by the fact that the surface of the ground at these places is often damaged.

Scrap dealers have also set up their businesses at the extreme North-East of Versova Koliwada, between informal settlements and the sea. Waste is sorted in open spaces surrounding their companies before it is taken to Dharavi to be recycled. This part of Versova Koliwada is therefore one with the highest concentration of waste found in public spaces.

The BMC and beach clean-up operations contribute to certain of these dumps. BMC workers deposit the waste collected from houses and streets onto them before they are picked up by bigger vans which take them to landfills. Waste collected from the beach by the BMC and public beach clean-ups has also started being dumped on the street where it has been seen to be left for weeks before it is taken to a landfill.