Bangalore: The clock is ticking for the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to close down the Mandur landfill site by December 1, but waste management experts doubt that the civic agency will be able to meet the deadline. DH file photo
The clock is ticking for the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to close down the Mandur landfill site by December 1, but waste management experts doubt that the civic agency will be able to meet the deadline.
The people of Mandur are, however, determined not to allow a single garbage truck into the landfill site when the deadline closes. They say they will not give another extension to the Palike.
The BBMP’s Solid Waste Management Expert Committee member, N S Ramakanth, says it is doubtful that the Palike will be able to find alternative landfill sites in time. “It will take at least a year to acquire the land (for a landfill site).
Setting up waste-processing units is also a time-consuming affair. If the Palike executes the work on a fast-track basis with support from the State government, the situation may improve,” he said.
Meenakshi Bharath, member of Solid Waste Management Round Table, points out that the door-to-door collection of segregated waste is not taking place effectively.
“I wish the Palike could solve the garbage problem by November-end,” she added.
Bangalore district in-charge minister Ramalinga Reddy stressed that the government would meet the deadline but claimed that the project of setting up waste-processing plants had been delayed by persistent rainfall and festivals.
“The firms concerned have started setting up plants for scientific disposal of 3,500-4,000 metric tonnes (MT) of waste a day. The remaining 500 MT of waste will be taken to Bingipura, Lakshmipura and small landfill sites in the City, temporarily from December 1 onwards.”
Understandably, the people of Mandur are not ready to trust the BBMP but some of them do hope it may meet the deadline as the promise was made by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Reddy, according to Gopal Rao, a resident.
“The 13-point agreement we had signed with the Palike on June 23, 2014, mentions that the 40 lakh metric tonnes of waste lying at the landfill site will be cleared gradually within three years and the area converted into a park. But we are not very hopeful as we have not seen any initiative taking place till date,” Rao said.
Currently, 100-odd trucks enter the village every day. “We have struggled all these years and if the civic agency repeats its old tricks by trying to convince us, we would have no option but to stage protests or commit mass suicides,” said Gowramma, another resident.
