Illegal dyeing, acid wash set-ups leading to rise in cancer

50-year-old worker, Shah Bano (name changed), who swears to have never consumed any form of tobacco or alcohol, is still clueless about the cause of cancer.

"Even doctors do not know what caused this fatal disease," said Shah Bano. She is not the only sufferer, in fact, there is a cancer patient in every second door in her area. Millennium Post has come across about 10 cancer cases in the three lanes of Shiv Vihar Phase VI, where she resides, two of whom had already succumbed to death in the past two months.

Last year, during mid-summer, while tucking buttons to a pair of freshly dyed pair of denim at her home in Mustafabad, Shah Bano felt a severe pain in her lower abdomen. After several tests, the doctors at GTB Hospital diagnosed stage II ovarian cancer.

Reacting to so many health complaints of the constituency residents, MLA Jagdish Pradhan, echoed his voice in the recent Assembly session.

Meanwhile, he even wrote a letter to the Delhi government addressing the issues, asking to shut down the illegal set-ups dealing in dyeing and acid wash of denim. Most of the units are run by the families residing in the area at their respective homes.

He also stated that these units have mushroomed very rapidly and has become a safety hazard for everyone, but the concerned authorities are not taking any action to shut them.

No precautionary measures are taken while using the chemicals. The acid, after the dyeing process, flows into the drains toxifying the water which in turn is enabling cancer cases to multiply in his constituency.

According to the Assistant Professor at GTBH, Dr Kuldeep Kumar, there is no data on the number of cancer cases registered from Mustafabad.

"Every hospital has to update the number of cancer patients under national cancer registry programme but the registry is not established. Since the data is not updated, one cannot conclude. But if people are suffering from different forms of cancer, it means that some environmental factor is playing a role," said Dr Kumar.

Shiv Vihar, where most of the illegal colouring units are located, has a population of over 80,000 people. According to its residents, it is among the 'most backward' places in Delhi; the area is also among the 90 minority districts identified by the UPA government.

However, the streets of Shiv Vihar fumes with the smell of chemicals and most people meet their daily water demands through underground water (submersible pump water).

The homes here have been doubled up as workshops, from door to door women and children can be seen working on dyed jeans, packing, tucking in buttons and letting the wet jeans dry.