The road leading to the Deonar dumping ground was cloaked in smoke trailing from four to five garbage trucks. The battered road, with broken asphalt, stirred up clouds of dust and debris with every passing vehicle. Cutting through the haze, a uniformed police officer from Shivaji Nagar police station zipped past on his bike, helmet strapped on. As he paused to adjust a handkerchief over his nose, readying himself for patrol, he muttered, “We breathe this air every single day. I’ve been doing this for four years now.”

Since 2007, after growing concerns about the impact of pollution on police health, the Mumbai police implemented a revised tenure policy for officers posted in these areas. The updated posting durations reduced the usual three-year tenure to two years for officers (PSI–API), senior inspectors, and higher ranks, and from five years to three years for constables.

Police officers say waste-laden trucks often pass right by their stations. Pic/Aishwarya Iyer