“My journey in Seelampur has been full of ups and downs, but at the same time, God has been kind to me. When I came here I never thought I would own a shop, but everything is possible if one works hard. I only deal with discarded cellphones as they are easy to dismantle and don’t cause many health hazards,” said Rashim, sitting on a chair inside his shop, where he employs three people. His employees extract motherboards and other chips from cellphones and send them for further processing.
M. Taj, a doctor popular in the area, has been working in Seelampur for 10 years. Each year, he said, things get worse. “Until the last few years, I used to see five to 12 patients in a day, now they have risen to 20 or 30,” he said. Most of the cases, he explained, are related to skin infections and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Taj cited a lack of awareness among e-waste workers about the causes of these health issues. “They burn wires, plastics, and parts of regular appliances, and dealing with hazardous chemicals is the cause of growing COPD cases in the area,” he said. “I see cases of small children with COPD and breathing issues, which would indefinitely affect their lifespan, and it’s really worrying.”