Video Producer: Maaz Hasan
Video Editor: Rajbir Singh
Som Bazaar, an evening market in Noida's Sector 44, deals with filth, dirt, and a foul smell on a daily basis. Since I live in Noida and have heard a lot about this market, I decided to give it a visit along with my friend Alok Kumar, who later helped me in capturing the state of the market through a mobile camera.
It is a big market for vegetables, clothes, and other essential items for daily needs. Close to this market, there is an empty ground where garbage has been dumped for a long time.
We decided to speak to both sellers and customers to understand the challenges that they are facing and the reason why there's such a huge pile of garbage near the market.
Sellers sitting right beside the pool of garbage at the Som Bazaar market.
(Photo Credit: Vaishali Rastogi)
"Residents in the locality throw their garbage here. We ask them to stop but they don't listen. We repeatedly ask them not to throw garbage but then they say, 'Is this your father's property?' There is no care taken here. If anything happens to stray animals, even when we call the authority, no one comes to pick them up. They don't come to pick up dead animals as well. We have requested so many times to get this cleaned. Many times, we stand in the water (to sell our items)."Vegetable Seller
A stray cow eating from the garbage near the Som Bazaar market.
(Photo Credit: Vaishali Rastogi)
On pointing out that there is vegetable waste also, the seller said, "Our vegetable waste gets disposed off in the morning. The waste that will be generated tonight will be disposed off. We have hired a cleaner, he collects the garbage and throws it in the waste bin."
Several sellers have to make such arrangements so that they don't have to stand in the dirt.
A fruit seller, in order to avoid the pool of filth, stands on a crate.
(Photo Credit: Vaishali Rastogi)
"Whenever we come here to buy anything, foul smell keeps coming. Garbage is dumped all around, you can see on either side. We eat while the waste lies around us. Also, the waste is wet, so it creates more problem. The situation is very bad, and this needs cleaning."Customer
'Authorities Don't Care About the Situation'
Upon further speaking with different sellers, many of them complained about the negligent behaviour shown by the authorities.
"Is this not visible to the government? When we sell items on footpath, they allege that we make the place dirty. Now, is it not clear to them who is making this place dirty?"Grocery Seller
After speaking to several vendors, we have come to know that the garbage is not cleaned up during the rainy season. Now, the question is – is this place going to be dirty throughout the rainy season? Is this place going to be like this always and will it not be cleaned up? Are these vegetable sellers going to be forced to sell their vegetables amid the dirt and foul smell?
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