The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has urged the government to direct all its departments to segregate and prudently manage the waste generated in their offices.
BBMP Commissioner Siddaiah said that government offices are one of the major bulk generators of waste. He had urged Chief Secretary S.V. Ranganath to issue orders to the heads of the departments on cutting down, segregating, and managing garbage. “Mr. Ranganth has asked [us] to submit a proposal and [we] are working on it,” he said.
Mr. Siddaiah told reporters at “Wake up, Clean Up Bengaluru” here on Saturday that if the communities around the Mandur and Mavallipura landfills had not protested, Bangaloreans would have remained in slumber.
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“This has presented us with an opportunity to take corrective steps now. There are many success stories and people have shown us it can be done. We just need willingness and a change in attitude to be part of this movement,” he said.
Over the past five days, leaders from various fields, including hotels, hospitals, trades and business, have committed themselves to working towards reducing the quantum of waste generated and treating it in situ after segregation. They have declared that they will strive to reduce the output by 1,500 tonnes a day by June 5 (World Environment Day).
Mr. Siddaiah suggested that educational institutions and the military establishment in Bangalore be brought on board the movement.
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The city MLAs had committed to converting at least one ward in their constituencies as “zero garbage output area”. He said that in the next three months, dry waste collection centres would be set up in all the 198 wards.
Venture capital
T.V. Mohandas Pai, chairperson of Manipal Global Education, said that social entrepreneurs working in waste management must be encouraged, and suggested the setting up of a venture capital fund to help them scale up operations.
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, chairperson and managing director, Biocon Ltd., suggested that corporates adopt dry waste collection centres, besides giving a push to segregation at source.
A sweeping gesture
Earlier in the day, a group of people cleaned the streets of Gandhinagar area. Mr. Siddaiah and Gandhinagar MLA Dinesh Gundu Rao participated in it.
Mr. Dinesh Gundu Rao said that he would soon meet with the pourakarmikas and garbage contractors and urge them to pick up only segregated waste.
“We will develop a model that can be emulated in other wards,” he added.
A jatha, which included pourakarmikas, was taken out from Freedom Park to Subedar Chatram Road in Gandhinagar.