Several plans for scientific disposal of garbage remain on paper even though the State government and the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) continue to hold “review meetings and discussions” on the two-month-old crisis.
With 4,000 tonnes of garbage still piled up in the city and the waste output expected to register a sharp spike on Saturday in view of Bakrid, Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, Mayor D. Venkatesh Murthy and BBMP Commissioner Rajneesh Goel held another round of discussions on Friday.
Clearing the landfills
Sources said the meeting once again went over the various proposed projects to clear the accumulated garbage in Mandur and Mavallipura landfills.
Mr. Shettar told journalists that the BBMP would soon reopen the latter and had submitted the compliance report to the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB). Residents of surrounding villages oppose this proposal saying their life now has some semblance of normality after the KSPCB closed the Mavallipura landfill. The BBMP has been supplying water to the surrounding villages and had released Rs. 8 crore for improvements in and around Mavallipura and Rs. 10 crore for Mandur.
However, Mavallipura residents complained the water supply was irregular.
Priority to biowaste
Keeping Bakrid in mind, Mr. Goel has asked the BBMP to prioritise removal of biowaste by deploying additional lorries. Accumulation of biowaste would not just pollute the city but also encourage stray dogs. He asked citizens to dispose of biowaste responsibly.
Mr. Goel also asked officials to enlist the services of rag pickers to segregate waste and pay them Rs. 100 a day. The BBMP and ITC Ltd. are initiating a three-month pilot project of segregating waste at source into dry and wet in Shivajinagar, covering Bharatinagar, Shivajinagar and Sampangiramanagar wards. If it works, it will be emulated in other wards.
