Cooking up trouble
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Ejipura slum dwellers use kerosene for cooking purposes as they are too poor to afford an LPG connection.
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By Christine Machado
BANGALORE (Nov. 28)—It was nearly time for lunch. The harsh rays of the sun created a blinding glare as they reflected off the asbestos-sheet houses as Salvi squatted outside her tiny steel dwelling washing utensils on a stone, watching her half-clad, barefooted grandchildren scuttle in and out of the house.
A peek into the modest, one-room shanty house revealed a jar of kerosene perched precariously on the lower shelf of the cupboard, well within the reach of the inquisitive little ones.
Wasn’t she afraid that the children could accidentally topple the jar? Salvi shrugged.
“We are careful,” she says simply. Pointing at the scarce space in the shack she said, “Where can we store it safely?”
Originally from Koramangala in southeast Bangalore, Salvi has been living in nearby Ejipura, since she was a young girl. Now, in her late 50s, she lives with her two married sons and their families. While she used to use wood to cook, she now uses kerosene, like many of her neighbours.
“We don’t have enough money to use LPG,” Salvi said, throwing her wrinkled hands up in despair while nearby, a young girl washed the shampoo out of her hair, drawing water from a broken bucket.
Kerosene’s dangers little recognized
In fact, while a majority of the people in this power-cable-festooned slum use kerosene, a small number of the extremely poor still depend on wood for cooking their meals. Almost no one here uses liquid petroleum gas.
“We don’t know how to use LPG gas cylinders,” Salvi said. “We are scared. What if there is an accident? All our homes are covered with asbestos sheets. It is dangerous.”
Though reluctant to use LPG, Salvi seemed ignorant of the dangers of using kerosene.
Inhaling kerosene fumes can cause swelling of the throat, dizziness, nausea, breathing trouble, abdominal pains, loss of vision, drowsiness, a feeling of euphoria or intoxication and headaches. Repeated exposure to kerosene fumes can result in neurological and kidney damage.
If children accidentally drink the liquid, they are liable to suffer from vomiting, diarrhoea, stomach cramps or swelling, coughing, restlessness, and drowsiness or loss of consciousness.
Slum dwellers’ health suffering
As a matter of fact, asthma and bronchitis are commonly seen ailments seen in this pollution-stricken locality, with many people complaining of nausea, chest pains or other ailments that are symptoms of kerosene poisoning.
“I moved here only two days ago, but I’ve already observed that lung infection, bronchitis, and upper and lower respiratory disorders are very prevalent here,” said Dr. Lalita at the Koramangala Public Health Centre, the lone clinic in the area, manned only by her.
Dr. Lalita said she believes that apart from the use of kerosene, the filthy conditions in the area are another key cause of diseases.
The filth is especially evident while walking towards the office of the representative of the area which is situated near the common toilets. Here, one needs to tread carefully to avoid stepping on human excreta.
The president of the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Youth Social Welfare Association, Mr. Luvies, who is in charge of the Ejipura slum area, looks into the various complaints and problems of the residents, conversing effortlessly with them in Tamil, Kannada and Hindi, depending on their language of choice.
“They [the slum dwellers] used to get up to 10 liters of kerosene with their BPL [below poverty line] card, but the government has reduced this to six,” he said. “This is not sufficient, and they are forced to buy the rest in black [illegally].”
In fact, the slums cough up around Rs.105 for the six liters and buy the rest at Rs.35 a liter.
Writing out a bill at his ration shop, which has been in operation for five years, Mr. Kumar said, “At one point, the government used to give even up to 17 to 18 liters per [BPL] card.”
Bags of rice took up a majority of the space in his shop, while hens gobbled up the grains spilling out.
In spite of the government promise two months ago to look into the matter and increase the amount of kerosene being provided back to the original 10 liters, the slum dwellers continue to spend more to buy the necessary extra amount of kerosene that they need.
“There is no one to hear us,” Salvi said wistfully, as she echoes the sentiment of the entire area.
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