“Take back the garbage trucks and stop dumping the city’s waste in our villages.” This was the main demand of the communities who have been protesting against the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) sending the garbage from Bengaluru to the processing units near Dabaspet, on the city’s outskirts, since Monday night.
Stalemate continued on Wednesday, as the communities refused to back down and continued to hold their ground. Many villagers have been protesting by blocking the main road leading to two processing units – Terra Firma Biotechnologies Ltd. and MSGP Infratech Pvt. Ltd. – near Chikkamankalala Circle in Doddaballapur taluk.
Apart from keeping a night long vigil, the communities have been camping on the road for two days now. Some of them have even prepared their food by the side of the road, as part of the protest, even as hundreds of garbage trucks lined up by the side of the road.
Blaming the BBMP officials for their poor living conditions, the villagers said that the stench from the processing units was unbearable. They also alleged that the processing was not happening, which had lead to garbage just being dumped at the sites. “Even our drinking water has been polluted, as is the air we breathe. We don’t need assurances. We only need permanent solutions,” the protestors cried.
The communities pointed out that nearly 250 to 300 trucks were coming to dump waste at the processing units every day. They asked the BBMP officials if they will drink the water from the village and said that their land rates had plummeted.
BBMP’s Joint Commissioner (West Zone), Lakshminarasaiah conceded that the quantum of waste being sent to Terra Firma had increased, especially after the civic body stopped sending garbage to Mandur landfills. “We know of the problems that the communities here are facing. BBMP has already released Rs. 3.79 crore to provide the required infrastructure at the villages near the processing units. Regular health check-up camps will be held for the villagers, besides we will also take up odour control and spraying to tackle the mosquito menace.”
He claimed that the quantum of waste going to these units will reduce significantly in two months, as two more processing units will be commissioned. He urged the community leaders to allow the BBMP to send garbage trucks until then.
Attempts are once again being made to convince the communities to allow trucks to the processing units. Police and Chief Executive Officer of Bengaluru Rural Zilla Panchayat, Shailaja also tried to convince the villagers to withdraw their protest, in vain.
