The government is committed to solving the garbage problem, while ensuring that communities living around landfills on the city’s outskirts are not inconvenienced, M. Veerappa Moily, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, has said.
He visited Mavallipura landfill on Sunday with Minister for Transport and district in-charge Ramalinga Reddy. A team of Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials, led by Commissioner M. Lakshminarayan, apprised them of the status of the landfill. Garbage is no longer being dumped there, but processing of accumulated garbage is yet to begin.
Dangerous area
Mavallipura residents told Mr. Moily and Mr. Reddy about the problems they faced because of the garbage. The groundwater was polluted and residents were developing illnesses from being exposed to pollutants, they complained.
Mr. Moily reportedly assured them that the government was committed to finding a permanent solution to their problems.
In Bangkok, garbage was being disposed scientifically under a public-private partnership (PPP). The same model may be emulated in Bangalore, he said. The Ministers directed Mr. Lakshminarayan to find out from agencies entrusted with the processing of the accumulated garbage when the work would start.
Official suspended
Earlier, Mr. Lakshminarayan, accompanied by a posse of officials, inspected several areas in East and Yelahanka zones in the city.
He warned BBMP officials, especially those in charge of monitoring solid waste management, of stringent disciplinary action for dereliction of duty.
True to his word, he ordered the suspension of an assistant engineer from Shivajinagar subdivision for failing to clear garbage from a vacant plot next to Basava Samiti, despite being directed to do so a few days ago.
The Commissioner also inspected dry waste collection centres established in all 11 wards in Yelahanka zone, and the road sweeping machines used in the zone. “Depending on the feasibility, mechanical sweeping will be introduced in other main roads in the city where the traffic volume is high,” an official said.
Road-widening
Mr. Lakshminarayan inspected road-widening projects in progress in that zone.
Besides, officials were instructed to submit an estimate for clearing some bottlenecks in the storm-water drain network in Hebbal, which causes water to overflow after a heavy spell of rain.
