BENGALURU: Facing the wrath of the villages in and around the city for dumping Bengaluru’s waste, the authorities have decided to dispose of in the neighbouring districts of Kolar and Tumakuru.
For this, the Karnataka Compost Development Corporation (KCDC) plans to send the garbage via goods trains.
According to KCDC Chairman Kenchegowda, out of eight units of KCDC, only two are functional.
This is because residents near the units protest. “We need to dispose of waste scientifically, and for this, we need space. Now, we have identified land in Madhugiri of Tumakuru and Marikoppa village near KGF of Kolar district. We have identified 1,000 acres of land in each place to set up waste management parks.”
He said they plan to send the waste through trains every day. While waste from Gandhinagar,
Pulikeshinagar, Shivajinagar, KR Puram, Mahadevapura and other assembly constituencies will be sent to Marikoppa, waste generated from Dasarahalli, Vijayanagar, Rajajinagar, Yelahanka and Byatarayanapura will be sent to Madhugiri. Each train wagon can carry waste from two assembly constituencies.
These goods trains will take the Bengaluru-Chennai track to reach Marikoppa of KGF and Bengaluru-Delhi line to reach Madhugiri. The train will go to KGF, which is some 5km from Marikoppa village and the KCDC officials propose to extend the railway track till there.
Kenchegowda said they prefer trains as for transporting trash by lorries, they would need at least 500 vehicles to go to one place. “This also means more vehicles on roads, which might cause traffic jam. Compounding the problem, the waste might spill on to the roads, making a mess of the area. Also, 500 lorries mean more fuel. To avoid this, we have proposed trains and got a nod from the senior authorities,” he said.
“We need funds to execute this plan and we hope this will be included in the coming State Budget,” he added. KCDC which plans to procure 1,000 acres will give 20 to 50 acres to private agencies for converting waste into compost, power and biogas.“This means, we will provide raw material (segregated waste) and land.”