BANGALORE : The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), which is gearing up to restart the garbage processing unit at Mavallipura following a High Court direction, is likely to encounter trouble with the residents.
The landfill was closed in 2012 after the intervention of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), triggered by protests in and around Mavallipura. The heaps of garbage there were affecting agricultural activities in Mavallipura, Lingarajapura, Mylapanahalli, Ramagondanahalli, Subedarpalya, Kurubarahalli, Muttugadahalli, Chikkabylakere, Doddabylakere, Kondashettyhalli, Madugerehalli and Shivanakote halli. After the protests, garbage trucks have not been sent there.
However, following the High Court order, BBMP is planning to process around 300 tonnes of waste and produce manure, which it will distribute to the farmers free of cost. However, not everyone is convinced. According to Narayana, a resident of Subedarpalya, some 500 metres from the dumping yard, the colour of the borewell water changed last week, indicating that it has been contaminated. “We are also getting a bad odour. Water samples have been sent to Khanija Bhavan for testing. The Zilla Panchayat engineer had come and locked the borewell. They have put up a board which says ‘Do not use the Water’.”
He said the villagers are now buying water from a private tanker at `600 for 3,000 litres. Srinivas, a resident of Mavallipura, accused BBMP and Ramky Enviro Engineers Ltd, the private operator of the landfill, of having misled the High Court. He said Ramky has a waste processing unit in Meghalaya and had shown pictures of that unit to the court. “In reality, the unit they were supposed to start (here) long back is not functional. The old machinery has rusted and doesn’t work. They (Ramky) cannot process 10 tonnes of waste now, so how can they process 300 tonnes every day?” he asked.
He said the villagers have lost trust in the civic body. “They will end up using unscientific methods, which we will not allow,” he said.
‘Groundwork Required’
Meanwhile, the BBMP Solid Waste Management (SWM) expert committee has objected to setting up the processing unit without making adequate arrangements. N S Ramakanth, a member of the committee, told Express that BBMP has done no work at Mavallipura since stopping the waste trucks. “There is a need to make ground arrangements like making a leachate point. And I am not sure the old machines are in working condition. BBMP had awarded the tender to Ramky and paid enough money. Now to restart the unit, the Palike should not pay,” he said.
BBMP Commissioner M Lakshminarayana said the installation of a concrete platform and making power arrangements would be done in a month. Thereafter, 300 tonnes of segregated waste will be sent every day to be “processed scientifically”.
“We are not paying a single rupee. It is on Ramky,” he said.
Mandur D-Day Looms Large
The deadline to stop sending waste to Mandur is drawing close (December 1). Shivaji Rao, a resident, said BBMP was supposed to reduce the number of garbage trucks from Tuesday, but because of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bangalore, the civic body requested Mandur villagers to allow 200 trucks for two more days. “Every night, villagers are going near the landfill to count the number of trucks. According to their promise, from October 23, BBMP should send only 100 trucks and stop completely from December 1,” he said.