Photographer asks model to walk on 'garbage ramp,' highlights waste management issue

In an attempt to draw attention to the solid waste management issue that has been posing an environmental hazard, a Ranchi photographer clicked former ‘Miss Jharkhand’ while she maundered on the garbage dump. Shared by photographer Pranjal Kumar on his Instagram handle, the powerful images depict a humongous pile of trash at a landfill site in Jharkhand’s Jhiri dumpyard in Ranchi district, where the waste generally rots and decays contributing to the greenhouse effect due to lack of disposal facility. Both biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste is mixed in the badly-managed landfill site where every day, more waste dumpers are added to the pile of mounting trash. 

In order to highlight the garbage site’s detrimental impact on the ecosystem, photographer Pranjal Kumar locked a photoshoot with the model attired in a gorgeous red dress, posing in midst of the trash pile situated in the outskirts of Ranchi. The area is reportedly the largest landfill site in Jharkhand and poses serious health implications on the residents housing in its vicinity. In the footage that Kumar posted on his social media, which has now caught the attention of the internet, model Surbhi is seen walking the ramp on the garbage. 

“We generate around 62 million tonnes of garbage annually out of which 45 million tonnes of garbage remain untreated that is a whopping 75 percent,” photographer Pranjal Kumar wrote in a post on Instagram.

“Just in case you are wondering how much of waste is that, imagine 3 million trucks of untreated garbage,” he goes on to add. Furthermore, he informs his audience, “If these 3 million trucks were laid end to end then they would easily cover half the distance between the earth and the moon.” 

Shot photo from 210 feet drone camera 

Pranjal Kumar condemned the inaction regarding the waste landfill stating that India is currently grappling with approximately 31 million tons of waste, sent directly to the landfills each year. “All major landfills in India like Deonar in Mumbai, Ghazipur in Delhi, and Kodungaiyur in Chennai, to name a few, are already functioning way past their capacity and are over-flowing dreadfully,” he added, as he captions the footage with “Save The Earth” appeal. Pranjal also filmed the waste site from a height of about 210 feet with a drone camera before asking model Surbhi to walk on the garbage and shoot pictures. 

Image: Pranjal Kumar Photography Instagram