Hanumatha Raju, a farmer from Nelamangala, is open to receiving wet waste from the city to be converted to compost on his land. “It will help us farmers in the end. However, we will accept only pure wet waste from the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).” Meaning, strictly segregated organic waste.
He was among 35 farmers who had come to the BBMP on Tuesday to meet Mayor D. Venkatesh Murthy and Commissioner Rajneesh Goel evincing interest in buying wet waste that is generated in the city. Farmers came from the neighbouring taluks of Nelamangala, Chickballapur, Hoskote, Thalaghattapura and Tavarekere and also met Karnataka State Organic Farming Mission Chairperson A.S. Anand and Karnataka State Pollution Control Board Chairperson Vaman Acharya.
Costly organic manure
They are interested in composting wet waste, as the cost of organic manure has spiralled. This would be a win-win situation for both them and the BBMP. The farmers need compost, while BBMP needs to dispose of the wet waste which it intends to sell at Rs. 66 a tonne. To begin with, the BBMP will send around 30 loads of garbage to the farmers, Mr. Goel told presspersons later. After segregation was made mandatory, it is able to collect 1,200 tonnes of just wet waste daily.
The 30 loads can be easily collected from the BBMP’s markets. “K.R. Market alone generates around 80 tonnes of wet waste. Around 200 tonnes is generated by BBMP’s markets. Sending the waste to the farmers is the first phase of our waste management plan,” he said
Curbing corruption
The BBMP, which will bear the transportation cost, will soon introduce a foolproof system to curb corruption. “Authentication slips with quantum of wet waste, vehicle number, driver’s name and address of the farmer will be made mandatory.”
Mr. Goel said in three months, the BBMP would set up transfer stations where wet waste will be collected, shredded and sprayed with EM (effective microbial) solution. “This will stabilise the waste for effective composting in just seven days. This waste will be then sent to the farmers’ fields directly in special trucks with liners.”
The BBMP will also conduct raitha jathas in the nearby taluks where the farmers can register themselves so that the wet waste will be sent to them. “We will send waste to farms in a 100 km radius around the city,” he added.
