New Delhi: It has been three weeks since radiation was first detected and 11 people have been hospitalised since, with one person dead. But have any lessons been learnt?
In the heart of the capital, Mayapuri, is Asia's largest scrap market. This is where India's first case of radiation exposure was detected and the first person to have died was a worker here. But nothing has changed as far as safety goes. There are no visible signs of the scrap dealers here being in any way better equipped to deal with such eventualities in the future.
Not because they don't want it, but because they don't know how to go about it.
"We don't know how to protect ourselves. Somebody has to tell us, right?" asks Vijay Sharma, scrap dealer.
And while it's business as usual, there is an undercurrent of fear on the surface. A worker at the market, Satya Narayan, says, "The government should at least give us information about prevention. We feel helpless."
Where, ask the dealers, are the authorities? "Scientists and doctors had visited the shops where radioactive substances were found. They said the radiation has affected the soil as well. Till we remove one foot of the soil, the danger persists. During rains, the radioactive substances in the soil can spread. Yet, neither the municipality nor the Delhi Government has paid heed," Hemraj Gupta, president, Mayapuri Scrap Market Association, says.
While Gupta looks for the answers, the lack of awareness and prevention at Ground Zero of the radiation trail is baffling.