India is going to be known for another reason now. And it’s not something to be happy about. The garbage mountain in Delhi is going to rise higher than the Taj Mahal by the year 2020. The Ghazipur landfill which occupies an area of more than 40 football fields is growing at the rate of 10 meters every year. The heap is already more than 213 feet (65 meters) high and is expected to be more than 73 meters, the height of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, by next year.

The landfill which was started in 1984 was supposed to be closed in the year 2002. But 2,000 tonnes of garbage continued to be dumped every day. Even a landslide that killed two in 2018 was not enough to completely stop the disposal of new garbage every day, due to lack of other alternatives.

The site also poses a huge problem in terms of the health issues that it leads to. The air and groundwater have been severely polluted due to toxic waste. A local resident mentioned: “The poisonous smell has made our lives hell. People fall sick all the time.” A local doctor in the area, Kumad Gupta, reported seeing 70 people daily due to respiratory and stomach ailments caused by the polluted air. Babies are among the affected. The dump is also a major health risk for residents living within 5 km, possibly even leading to cancer.

The future doesn’t promise much hope and the annual waste generated in our cities can increase from 62 to 165 million tonnes by 2030. This means that immediate action starting at the grassroots level is essential.