Features

The ‘MOH MAYA’ of Mayapuri….

Anurag Pandey
Jul 2010
Anurag Pandey, Aastha Sharma
 
Somparkash has already seen 62 springs in his life and has weathered many seasons sitting in his shop in an obscure corner of the bubbling Mayaputri industrial area. His eyes lit up on his wrinkled face when we asked him the ‘story of Mayapuri.’ He had with many reminiscences to share.
 
It is a different story that he has been waiting for his pension from last two years living in the junkyard and who has seen the evolution and transition of Mayapuri from ‘the greens to the grays’. The untold story of Mayapuri seems to be resting his heart for over five decades as he starts giving vent to his feelings.
 
He has been a mute witness to ‘atrocious life’ in this junkyard. Somprakash has a small shop in the ‘D’ Block of this industrial hamlet. He gave out his shop to a person who runs a tea stall for  Rs.2000. With two children - a widowed daughter with two siblings and a son who got married and left home and his father to face the problems of life all alone.   
 
The Emergence
 
“Mayapuri was once a silent hub with a few trash shops”, recalls Somparkash and continues, “It was after the state of emergency in 1975 that Mayapuri emerged as an industrial area. And it eventually became one of the largest and major scrap markets of India.”
 
Mayapuri is now home to the entire junk and trash brought from all over Delhi and its adjoining areas. The trash include the metal scrap and the junk of outdated cars, accidental cars, Industrial waste, unused or expired machinery. Over the years, many spare parts shops, used automobile dealers and some inventory shops have come up in the area. Mayapuri is also famous for ‘reconstruction’ of vehicles.
 
“Mayapuri was once a vast agricultural land dotted with thousand of trees with a few hutments made by labour class,” informs Somparkash. During the riots in 1975-77, the government allotted the plots to the people who were already living and the rest of the land came under DDA which converted the whole green area into industrial plots allotted at very low prices. A group of people who were not allotted any plots approached the zamindar for help and it was due to him that plots were allotted in a particular area. After that the area came to be known as "Khazan Basti" named after the Zamindar Khazan.
 
The Swift Affair
 
Somparkash introduced us to Mr. Dental. What do you think this man could be?  This is the name of a famous mechanic of Mayapuri who is known for his art of constructing vehicles from spare parts of different vehicles. He is also a specialist in repairing accidental vehicles. For his uncanny abilities to ‘reconstruct from scratch’, Dental, the ‘Scrapman of Mayapuri’ has earned wide acclaim across India. With no academic or professional background, Dental proves that experience scores above all. “I spent all my childhood living in debris of the junk and watching the game of scrape and scratch,” says Dental. Today, Dental is idol of dozens of young ones helping and learning the tricks of the trade. He is even rearing another bright boy – Sonu – slated to steal the limelight from Dental eventually. “He is our man of tomorrow,” smiles dental as he gives a strong pat to his protégé.
 
The Mayapuri scrap market works swiftly. A bus which is made in days is dismantled here in 2 to 3 hours and becomes a sheer waste.    
 
mayapuri scrap market
 
The scrap market has its own fallout and has taken a toll on human health. Most of the people living there are suffering from various health problems such as asthma, skin diseases, tuberculosis and even lung cancer. Even Somprakash could not escape the onslaught of diseases. His life has been full of challenges as he went about managing food and shelter and education for his children. “I paid the price of this hellish living as I lost his wife due to tuberculosis,” he says with remorse.
 
Pollution is a major concern for the people living there, and the latest addition to the threat is from the radiation problem. Rajesh, a young businessman from the area, says his family is so scared after the radiation death that they hardly move out of the house now. “Earlier, I used to sit in my shop for six to seven hours, but now I can barely stay for an hour,” he says. There is general fear perception all around. One of them even says that “the quick response from the concerned authorities is due to the impending commonwealth games as the radiation incident could become a hurdle just like the terrorism.” The incident of cobalt 60 has in fact infuriated the people there.
 
The Changed Environment
 
The radiation exposure incident has since changed the environment in this happening place. “We do not see any serious concern of the authorities towards avoiding suvh mishaps in future,” says a junk dealer.

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