Water seeping out of waste dumps and uncollected garbage, leachate spread across the road, mounds of urban waste: the rains have brought out the worst of black spots that are not only an eyesore but also a health hazard.
While the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) says it is tackling the problem on a war footing, residents’ associations say otherwise but acknowledge that citizens, too, need to practise civic hygiene.
M. Ramachandra of Anandanagara Residential Welfare Association in Hebbal blamed poor implementation of plastic ban as the chief culprit for garbage on the streets. “A majority of the people continue to throw waste in plastic bags. Dogs and rats gnaw at these bags and spread the waste across the road,” he said.
The problem is exacerbated in markets. Fruits and vegetable vendors at K.R. Puram Market, for instance, said that the recent spate of rain has exposed the pathetic condition of drains in the city and poor collection and transportation of garbage. “Unattended garbage blocks the drain as we see here, nearby,” said a vendor.
Muniyappa K., a resident of Devasandra in K.R. Puram, said there were at least two black spots within 750 metres of each other from K.R. Puram Market. “The black spots are the result of commercial shops dumping waste on the road at night. Until and unless the BBMP collects garbage and waste at least twice a day, the situation will not change,” he said.
According to BBMP Joint Commissioner (SWM) Sarfaraz Khan, the volume of garbage increases during monsoon, which causes problems at the time of collection, transportation, and disposal. To counter this, the civic body is planning to set up more transfer stations across the city. “All 198 wards will have at least one dry waste collection centre within a few weeks. Soon, hand-held devices will be given to the BBMP officials to fine people throwing garbage on the road. These steps will definitely help us tackle garbage problems in the coming monsoon,” he said. The civic body will also be setting up an integrated, centralised smart control room that will monitor the waste management system. It is also contemplating the efficacy of two shifts as garbage accumulates repeatedly even after clearing the waste, especially in commercial and crowded areas.
( This is the second part of a series on monsoon preparedness )
