Aiming for Delhi's toxin-free future

Working since 1997—the organisation was registered in 1998—Toxics Link seeks to address issues pertaining to waste management and chemical use.
An image from the inauguration of the annual film festival by Toxics Link
An image from the inauguration of the annual film festival by Toxics Link

Delhi’s air quality continues to deteriorate with every passing day. Though a long-standing issue in the Capital, it is dismal to see that most contentions about air pollution take place by putting the privileged sections at the forefront. Even though it has been widely confirmed that air pollution affects certain groups more severely than others, we rarely see a discourse surrounding the same.

“When we talk about air pollution, we talk little about its exposure to the poor. The impact of pollution is much higher especially on poor women and poor children, because of higher exposures and lesser capacity to deal with the exposure,” explains Ravi Agarwal, founder and director of Toxics Link, an environmental NGO in Jangpura. Working since 1997—the organisation was registered in 1998—Toxics Link seeks to address issues pertaining to waste management and chemical use. They focus on toxicity, an omnipresent concern, and its underlying nuances. 

Bringing key issues to light
Toxics Link has been one of the first organisations to draw attention to issues surrounding waste—biomedical, plastic, hazardous, electronic—among others. Research conducted by them has also been taken up by the government for policymaking. The organisation works with state and central governments across domains such as utilising community outreach and education, policy analysis, research and programme development.

The idea is to create solutions driven by people’s needs.  A recent report by their team confirmed the continued usage of mercury, a highly toxic element in skin whitening creams, thereby revealing the monitoring gaps existing at varied levels. 

A never-ending fight
Among the many campaigns they are spearheading, a considerable amount of their work focuses on ‘Persistent Organic Pollutants’, which are “chemicals that are extremely hazardous, and are required to be eliminated by all countries,” explains Satish Sinha, associate director, Toxics Link. “We recently did a survey in Ganga and tested its water at three places—Varanasi, Haridwar, and Kanpur. The report revealed that plastic pollution level in the river was high,” he adds. 

They also conduct an annual film festival in order to strengthen public discourse. This event brings forward a series of hand-picked films that deal with critical environmental issues and have a scope to educate their audience with its visual appeal.  

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