The solid-waste management crisis came to a head on Thursday after 300 trucks carrying the detritus of Bengaluru were stranded at Mittaganahalli quarry pit.
The landfill is almost 90% full, and by Wednesday the mounds of garbage became unstable, and started sliding. Since then, truck after truck, laden with waste, have been queuing up outside the landfill, some for as long as 30 hours. However, dumping commenced at 9 p.m. on Thursday. BBMP officials said the operation will be over soon.
Dumping had been temporarily stopped, and collection in many parts of Bengaluru, such as K.R. Puram and Vidyaranyapuram, were affected on Thursday, resulting in unattended waste lying strewn on roadsides. S. Prasad, a resident of K.R. Puram said: “We were informed that the dry waste would not be collected. Already blackspots are cropping up in the area.”
Acknowledging that the quarry pit was fast filling up, D. Randeep, BBMP’s Special Commissioner (Solid Waste Management), said, “Measures to solve the problem are being worked out. The pit is 90% full. We are expecting to use it for at least a month more. As the Urban Development Department rejected the tender for setting up a scientific landfill at Mittaganahalli, we are planning for another quick tender. We will decide on it soon,” he said.
Truck drivers expressed their anger and frustration over the situation. “Generally, we come here at around 11 a.m. and unload the garbage and go back within two to three hours. However, since we are not allowed to unload the garbage, we have been stuck here for more than 30 hours now,” said one driver.
After the closure of Bellahalli quarry pit around three months ago, the civic body has been using the small landfill at Mittaganahalli as a temporary arrangement to dump mixed waste.
V. Ramaprasad, Solid-Waste Management expert said the city was supposed to have achieved at least 80-90% segregation of waste by the end of 2019. “We are far from achieving it. It is high time that both the BBMP and citizens take the initiative seriously. We are heading towards a major garbage crisis again,” he said.
