The civic body has proposed to set up two new leachate-treatment plants, one at the waste-processing unit at Chikkanagamangala and another at Mittaganahalli quarry pit at a cost of around ₹7.5 crore. There are already two leachate-treatment plants that are operational in two shifts at the Bellahalli quarry and another at the waste-processing unit at Kannahalli, both on the outskirts of the city. However, the plants are functioning below capacity.
It was only recently that leachate posed a huge headache for the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). Following heavy rains, the leachate tank at a waste-processing plant overflowed and contaminated water bodies nearby, leading to unrest among the local communities.
According to senior civic officials, the proposal has been sent to the State Government for approval. While the treatment plant proposed at Mittaganahalli will have an installed capacity of 1 lakh litres a day, the one at Chikkanagamangala will have the capacity to treat 50,000 litres a day.
Officials stated that the leachate treatment plant at the Bellahalli quarry has the capacity to treat around 1.2 lakh litres a day, while the one at Kannahalli plant is of 50,000 litres a day. However, the leachate-treatment plant at Bellahalli is treating only 80,000 litres and is being operated in two shifts, instead of three shifts. Even the plant at Kannahalli is operating at half its capacity. The reason being given is that the leachate generated there is not enough for the plant to function at its installed capacity.
The treatment plant at Bellahalli was established around three years ago at a cost of ₹4.5 crore, while the one at Kannahalli was commissioned just around 2 months ago, officials told The Hindu.
Officials also pointed out that the leachate goes through a 5-stage filtration process. The civic body has been utilizing the treated leachate at both Kannahalli and Bellahalli at the site to clean the garbage vehicles ferrying waste from the city to the plants. The treated leachate is also used in the surrounding villages to prevent dust from rising in the air, officials added.
( This concludes the series on the problems caused by garbage in the city )
