Bangalore's sewers, when they exist, are for the most part "open". See this for an example photo if you don't know what one looks like. They are channels about a 80cm across and a meter deep that run in front of most buildings along the streets.
If they are covered, they are covered with removable stones or concrete blocks. These then form the basis for what should be sidewalks, but in practice they are insufficient as such. As sidewalks, they are too uneven, too narrow, and since they are frequently missing stones, you must watch very carefully where you step lest you fall into the sewer. Sidenote: that's why everyone in India walks in the street and a major reason why 4-lane roads (where they exist) usually have at most 2 passable lanes of traffic going less than 30kmph, but that's for another rant...
Someone enjoying the Open Sewer in Badami. Photo courtesy of Olivié
So why have these rough, uneven stones? Why not just cover the sewers entirely with smooth concrete?
First, let's recognize that Bangalore, a town of 6-8 million people depending on who you ask, has no organized solid waste disposal system to speak of. Second, Bangaloreans by and large have no concept of using a garbage receptacle of any sort. There are few if any public trash bins, and usually there isn't one within 100 yards of you anyway, so if you did have some trash and you didn't want to throw it on the ground, you'd have to pocket it until you found a canister. The result: nearly everyone just throws their garbage on the ground. And then it flies or falls into the sewer.
And if you live on a road with one of the aforementioned sewers, you can speed up this process and just throw your trash directly in the sewer. Take a close look at all the non-biodegradeable stuff floating in that photo just there.
So this means that about once every 2 years, some unfortunate group of people are employed to clean out the sewers. Lest you think this involves some high-pressure washing machinery and garbage trucks, recall where we are: India. This means that people do it. Why not use machinery? People don't have to be imported from Germany and they don't break down. They don't even require maintenance. You just say "I need 100 workers at 100 rupees a day" and poof, they appear. If 20 get sick and don't show up on day two, 20 more will appear looking for work.
These unlucky souls stand in the sewers (a couple inches deep with flowing waste in some cases) and dig out the solids, putting them in a big pile on the side of the road. This cleaning is done with their bare hands too, since apparently
shovels and other bronze-age implements are too expensive for this
work. Did I mention that most of these workers have no shoes? That's right, they are standing barefoot in a river of poop, piss and chemical waste, then digging it out with their hands.
A big sloppy, stinky pile of waste then appears on the side of the road in front of the restaurants, milk salesmen, butchers, even the florists. It sits there for a month or so, drying out and blowing around until some other unlucky bunch of people comes along with a truck to haul it all "away". I have no idea where this mythical "away" place is, but I'm suspecting it is the fields where my vegetables are grown.
And then the entire cycle starts all over again as people continue to throw their garbage in the sewers. As I was going to work this morning, I stopped at a stoplight in front of a small business. The child working there was sweeping up all the plastic tea-cups, cigarette wrappers, and other trash. When he finished making a nice pile, he picked it up and threw it into the brand new open sewer in front of his shop.
This is all just another mind-boggling inefficiency of India that I just don't understand. Another side to "India Shining".
Afternote:
Light on the horizon: Chennai has banned the practice of manually cleaning sewers. We all know the gap between law and practice in India, but still it's a good first step.
If they are covered, they are covered with removable stones or concrete blocks. These then form the basis for what should be sidewalks, but in practice they are insufficient as such. As sidewalks, they are too uneven, too narrow, and since they are frequently missing stones, you must watch very carefully where you step lest you fall into the sewer. Sidenote: that's why everyone in India walks in the street and a major reason why 4-lane roads (where they exist) usually have at most 2 passable lanes of traffic going less than 30kmph, but that's for another rant...
Someone enjoying the Open Sewer in Badami. Photo courtesy of Olivié
So why have these rough, uneven stones? Why not just cover the sewers entirely with smooth concrete?
First, let's recognize that Bangalore, a town of 6-8 million people depending on who you ask, has no organized solid waste disposal system to speak of. Second, Bangaloreans by and large have no concept of using a garbage receptacle of any sort. There are few if any public trash bins, and usually there isn't one within 100 yards of you anyway, so if you did have some trash and you didn't want to throw it on the ground, you'd have to pocket it until you found a canister. The result: nearly everyone just throws their garbage on the ground. And then it flies or falls into the sewer.
And if you live on a road with one of the aforementioned sewers, you can speed up this process and just throw your trash directly in the sewer. Take a close look at all the non-biodegradeable stuff floating in that photo just there.
So this means that about once every 2 years, some unfortunate group of people are employed to clean out the sewers. Lest you think this involves some high-pressure washing machinery and garbage trucks, recall where we are: India. This means that people do it. Why not use machinery? People don't have to be imported from Germany and they don't break down. They don't even require maintenance. You just say "I need 100 workers at 100 rupees a day" and poof, they appear. If 20 get sick and don't show up on day two, 20 more will appear looking for work.
These unlucky souls stand in the sewers (a couple inches deep with flowing waste in some cases) and dig out the solids, putting them in a big pile on the side of the road. This cleaning is done with their bare hands too, since apparently
shovels and other bronze-age implements are too expensive for this
work. Did I mention that most of these workers have no shoes? That's right, they are standing barefoot in a river of poop, piss and chemical waste, then digging it out with their hands.
A big sloppy, stinky pile of waste then appears on the side of the road in front of the restaurants, milk salesmen, butchers, even the florists. It sits there for a month or so, drying out and blowing around until some other unlucky bunch of people comes along with a truck to haul it all "away". I have no idea where this mythical "away" place is, but I'm suspecting it is the fields where my vegetables are grown.
And then the entire cycle starts all over again as people continue to throw their garbage in the sewers. As I was going to work this morning, I stopped at a stoplight in front of a small business. The child working there was sweeping up all the plastic tea-cups, cigarette wrappers, and other trash. When he finished making a nice pile, he picked it up and threw it into the brand new open sewer in front of his shop.
This is all just another mind-boggling inefficiency of India that I just don't understand. Another side to "India Shining".
Afternote:
Light on the horizon: Chennai has banned the practice of manually cleaning sewers. We all know the gap between law and practice in India, but still it's a good first step.
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