The garbage crisis is likely to rear its head again in the city. With the communities near a processing unit at Doddaballapur staging a protest on Tuesday and preventing the dumping of waste from the city there, garbage collection in many parts of the city is likely to be affected.
Around 300 garbage trucks were not allowed to dump waste at the processing unit managed by Terra Firma Biotechnologies Ltd. near Dabaspet. The communities, apart from staging a protest, also warned of a night-long vigil to prevent vehicles from entering the unit.
They claim that the BBMP has been sending around 250 to 300 garbage trucks to the unit. They alleged that their complaints have fallen on deaf ears. “The processing has not been happening properly and, as a result, we are suffering. The stench is unbearable. Several people living near the unit have fallen ill,” a villager said and demanded a permanent solution to their problems.
The impasse may result in garbage collection from many areas in western parts of the city being hit.
G. Kumar Naik, BBMP Commissioner, said, “We have to see how many trucks come back to the city. We are working towards resolving the problem and senior officials are already engaged in a dialogue with the protesting communities. We will allay their fears.”
He also said that with the commissioning of new processing units, the pressure on Terra Firma is likely to reduce considerably. He said that processing would be made systematic and speeded up. A senior BBMP official told The Hindu that the protests may have been “orchestrated”. With BBMP polls to be announced shortly, some vested interests are trying to rake up contentious issues, the official explained.
