Even as communities around the Mandur landfill continued to keep vigil preventing vehicles dumping waste there, Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner Rajneesh Goel and senior officials went into a huddle for the most part of Thursday trying to find a solution to the impasse.
A meeting will also be held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar on Friday.
With Mandur out of bounds for garbage trucks, nearly 2,000 tonnes of waste is accumulating on city roads each day. With problems persisting at the landfill for the past three to four days, BBMP officials conceded that more than 6,000 tonnes of waste was rotting on the city’s streets, particularly in the core zones.
Sridhar M.A., a Mandur resident and a farmer, said nearly 200 members of his community were keeping vigil at the landfill. “We will not allow any lorry to come and dump garbage. On Wednesday, we sent back over 200 trucks. No vehicle or Minister or official came on Thursday.”
Secret location
Sources said the BBMP has already written to the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) seeking permission to dump garbage from the city on the 212 acres of land handed over to the civic authority by the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation. “Only garbage from the core zones will be dumped there. The location will not be announced as we don’t want any trouble from those living around these areas,” a senior official told The Hindu .
Officials said Commissioner Goel had deputed more officials to monitor the garbage crisis. “We are confident the issue will be sorted out on Friday.”
Israel method
Meanwhile, working towards ending the problems at Mandur, Mr. Goel said the 10 lakh tonnes of accumulated waste would be treated using the ‘Israel method’ and the garbage would be sprayed with concentrated solutions to prevent stench. The BBMP would convince the communities to allow a minimum of 220 trucks to dump waste there.
Officials had been instructed to set up decentralised segregation and waste processing facilities in around 400 acres in and around the city, as dump yards are not allowed under the Municipal Solid Waste Rules 2000.
