PUBLIC HEALTH IN MUMBAIPUBLIC HEALTH IN MUMBAI

•Known as the ‘City of Dreams’•India’s financial, fashion and film capital (‘Bollywood’)•Population in 2014 – Approx 12.5 million•One of the most crowded and polluted cities in the world

MUMBAI….

The seamier side of Mumbai

Providing healthcare in Mumbai is a financial and logistical nightmare:•Population of sick/disabled people is staggering for any Government to deal with•Government-funded hospitals are themselves unhygienic•Lack of qualified medical staff – doctors, nurses, doulas, hygienists•Improper disposal of medical waste – extremely dangerous!•Negligible recycling of garbage by households

MUMBAI HEALTHCARE

•Negligible recycling of garbage by households•Thousands of tonnes of garbage are generated everyday which are not disposed off properly

And most importantly-•Most people are careless about their health!!

Everyone loves street food, not everyone bothers to boil/filter drinking water and wading through rain water is a pleasurable activity!The poor frequently defecate in the open

POOR HEALTH IS DUE TO…

Water pollution Rainwater stagnation

Untreated, improperly disposedgarbage

Unhygienic street food

Unsafe drinking water

Defecation in the open(no image) ☺

WATER POLLUTION

Major problem – LACK OF BASIC CIVIC SENSEMost Mumbaikars treat water bodies – including the Arabian Sea – as their personal dustbin

Another problem – CLEAN-UP EFFORTSProjects are repeatedly undertaken and then abandoned to clean up rivers and lakesIssues – lack of accountability and corruption (no surprise!)http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Eight-firms-pitch-for-Mithi-river-clean-up/articleshow/1422017.cmsclean-up/articleshow/1422017.cms

Yet another problem – FESTIVALSThe Ganesh festival in August/Festival ends with ‘Visarjan’, which involves immersion of Ganesh idols in water bodies like lakes, rivers and the Arabian Sea

SOLUTION: Over the past 5 years or so, volunteers have been working with Municipal clean-up marshals to clear water bodies of refuse when the festival ends

UNHYGIENIC STREET FOOD

Mumbai has a wonderful street food cultureWesterners who think vegetarian food is only pasta, kale and quinoa should come to Mumbai to sample some of our delicious vegetarian food!Mumbai serves everything from Indian to Chinese, Lebanese to Mexican, American to Italian!

However, hygiene is a major problem-•Cooks rarely wear gloves while handling food•Plates and other utensils are not cleaned properly•Plates and other utensils are not cleaned properly•Ingredients used are not always high-quality, ex, oil and spices•Street food is rarely covered•The Monsoon season (June-August) brings with it a host of diseases like diarrhoea and malaria, and street food is the most common route of contracting these diseases

I once heard a joke about Mumbai’s monsoon:The only safe thing to consume in Mumbai during the monsoon is a cup of hot tea! ☺(since tea includes boiled water)

UNHYGIENIC STREET FOOD contd…

RAINWATER STAGNATION

•Mumbai’s underground drainage system is over a 100 years old – a leftover of the ‘British Raj’•Upgrades require money and accountability – the former is available but the latter is sadly lacking•Monsoons usually arrive in June and stay till August or early September•Heavy rains in these 3 months put immense pressure on the drainage system, which frequently overflows• Result – water-logging and floods• Result – water-logging and floods•The low-lying parts of Mumbai are most affected•Potholed roads � Potholed + flooded roads!•Even sturdy BEST (public) buses struggle to navigate through the floods•The floods of July 2005 were memorable and truly horrific. Here’s a good article about it: http://www.ndtv.com/photos/news/26july-2005-the-day-mumbai-stopped-11000

Is there a bright spot?You bet! Kids have the time of their lives in the monsoon season! ☺

RAINWATER STAGNATION contd…

GARBAGE

Problems•More garbage is generated than disposed, posing a major health hazard•Disposal methods are unscientific, haphazard and slip-shod•Mountains of garbage = MASSIVE EYESORE!•Almost no recycling by households

Possible solutions•A comprehensive plan to deal with the tonnes of garbage generated •A comprehensive plan to deal with the tonnes of garbage generated daily•Systematic pick-up and disposal methods•Education about reusing and recycling•Instill civic sense in citizens so they don’t treat their city like a personal dustbin!•Cut graft and red tape in Mumbai’s Municipal Corporation(BMC) and increase pay and benefits of clean-up marshals•Involve citizen groups to tackle the menace area-wise

GARBAGE contd….

WHAT MUMBAI DESPERATELY NEEDSCleaner waterI still hold high hopes that someday I’ll be able to drink water straight out of a tap! ☺

Better controls over licences handed over to street food vendors and cafesEliminate corruption and graftStrict hygiene checks and controls

Remove/rehabilitate illegal (‘licence-less’) vendors or bring them into the legal ambit

Complete overhaul of the drainage systemComplete overhaul of the drainage system

More scientific methods of garbage treatment/recycling/disposal

More healthcare professionals, lower healthcare costs and more public toilets!!

Better roads – potholes make floods worse and lead to more accidents and injuries

More involvement of NGOs and charities in educating people, especially children, about the dangers of consuming untreated water and unhygienic street food

Government subsidies on medicines for monsoon-related illnesses and preventive tools like mosquito nets

REFERENCEShttp://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/01127/28IN_RAIN_1127341f.jpg RAINWATER STAGNATIONhttp://labsaints.com/wp-content/uploads/images86.jpg OPEN STREET FOODhttp://static.financialexpress.com/pic/uploadedImages/bigImages/B_Id_446078.jpg OPEN STREET FOOD 2http://cupidspeaks.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/indian-street-food.jpg OPEN STREET FOOD3http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NSFulUliP_g/UKiS1Y9mEbI/AAAAAAAAA1I/N7oU-KgJJac/s1600/4058507404_8b7eb2e439.jpg OPEN STREET FOOD4http://cdn2.getyourguide.com/img/tour_img-75871-48.jpg STREET FOOD5http://cdn2.getyourguide.com/img/tour_img-75871-48.jpg STREET FOOD5http://foodnightlifeblog.buzzintown.com/files/2012/10/Mumbai-street-food.jpg STREET FOOD6http://image.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/885/885,1263492345,4/stock-photo-an-handsome-indian-kid-looking-very-sick-44490781.jpg SICK CHILDhttp://www.indiawaterportal.org/sites/indiawaterportal.org/files/drinking%20water.jpg UNSAFE DRINKING WATERhttp://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/01117/HY19_P3_RAIN_1117742f.jpg KIDS RAINhttp://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/01226/03VZVISKCITYREG2RA_1226309f.jpg RAIN CAR

REFERENCES contd…

http://images.mid-day.com/images/2014/aug/Best-bus-in-water.jpg BESThttp://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NsvFqay4GXs/TRcXeo4Xn8I/AAAAAAAABhI/uBZD2l8HxhU/s640/10-most-polluted-cities-in-the-world05.jpg DIRTY NULLAH IN BASTIhttp://2.bp.blogspot.com/-duLwCK1tXC0/TbWwcIU7-nI/AAAAAAAAAms/UqxlKH62pDM/s1600/10-most-polluted-cities-in-the-world02.jpg WATER POLLUTIONhttp://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CR136snpWCA/UGseIJdH_CI/AAAAAAAABdQ/6Rpa27IvXEQ/s1600/GV-6.JPGhttp://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/ganesh-immersion-water-pollution-21752732.jpghttp://www.whiteindianhousewife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/IMG_3128sm.jpghttp://www.whiteindianhousewife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/IMG_3128sm.jpghttp://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tdLFGHTy9ic/UNWClS-pB0I/AAAAAAAAAso/czDYSMNSyPs/s1600/DSC00226.JPG GANPATI2http://media.newindianexpress.com/article597164.ece/alternates/w620/m2.jpghttp://images.jagran.com/mumbai_10_6_13.jpg FLOOD2http://static.ibnlive.in.com/ibnlive/pix/sitepix/07_2013/delhirain_traffic_pti2.jpghttp://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/01127/28IN_RAIN_1127341f.jpgLecture notes and videos from Week 5

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