The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) intensifies action against gold jewellery making units in Kalbadevi for erecting illegal chimneys that have been spewing toxic gases. However, local residents, fighting against the toxic illegal chimneys for the past 19 years have claimed the BMC was acting slowly, contrary to its claims.
Starting this month the civic body has already demolished and removed more than 40 illegal (PVC and metal) chimneys from these units civic officials said. According to officials more than 700 chimneys have been demolished/removed in the past three years.
According to officials, there are around 2,032 jewellery making units until 2018-2019, however, sources claim that there are more than 15,000 such units which are operating from 80-100 square feet houses in small chawls. A majority of the artisans hail from West Bengal, followed by Maharashtrians, north Indians, and Gujaratis. To make a gold ornament it has to go through various stages like dyeing, soldering, polishing and others and each unit does one specific task.
Harikishan Garodia, a local resident who has been at the forefront of the fight and an active member of the Bhuleshwar resident association, said though BMC is demolishing chimneys, the gold manufacturing unit owners install a new chimney the very next day. However, Assistant Municipal Corporation of C ward (Kalbadevi, Chirabazar, etc) Chakrapani Alle said that repeated action would be taken against these units.
However residents claim that removing the chimney is an eyewash, BMC needs to act fast. "More concrete action than removing chimneys should be taken against these units. BMC's first move should be to book the landlord /owner of the land. There is an urgent need to shift these units to non-residential areas," said Garodia.
The residents living near gold melting, polishing units in Mumbai’s jewellery hub have been suffering from asthma, bronchitis and restrictive lung disease due to the toxic fumes emitting from these unit chimneys. A research paper from KEM hospital has shown how these gold jewellery making units were leading to respiratory illness among locals, besides these units are also a fire trap. "The place is a ticking time bomb. Unskilled labourers use highly toxic and combustible chemical for polishing and melting gold in the furnaces, these units also store LPG cylinders," said another resident.
Owners of the gold units in the Kalbadevi-Zaveri Bazar area are against the BMC and state government's proposal to shift their units out of the area. They claim it is not feasible for the 2 lakh artisans and the security of the trade.
Currently, these units are located in a radius of 3km —Kalbadevi-Bhuleshwari, Dhanji Street, Gulal wadi, Zaveri Bazar, and Dagina Bazar. “There have been talks with the state government and stakeholders of shifting these units to non-residential areas. However, there has been no consensus on the issue. As it is easier to transport the gold because all shops are nearby," Alle said.
Alle added, "These units do not have a license of gold refinery but a license of shop and establishment. We demolish the chimneys they come back, this is a continuous process. but we will not allow illegal chimneys to be, we will keep demolishing and removing them. The shop and establishments licenses of those units not abiding by this will be revoked, we are working on this for now."
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