Can BBMP save Russell Market from being a meat waste stench yard?

Animal body parts and other garbage are picked by the BBMP in trucks only once a day even as huge quantity wet waste piles up in the market.
Animal blood found mixed with garbage at Russel Market | Gourav Pratap mishra
Animal blood found mixed with garbage at Russel Market | Gourav Pratap mishra

BENGALURU: Shivajinagar, one of the major markets in the city, sees thousands of locals and tourists visiting it daily. While the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) used to pick garbage twice in a day earlier, now they are doing it once, that too early in the morning. The rest of the day, the beef, chicken and fish waste is dumped in Russell Market— which again waits for days, to get picked, many a times.

The dumping of meat waste, which has been taking place behind the mutton market in Shivajinagar for the past two years, continues unabated and several complaints raised by the Russel Market Trader's Association (RMTA) have fallen on deaf ears as the BBMP is unable to clear the stink of rotting meat being dumped here.

According to shopkeepers, they have no choice but to live amid the stench and mosquitoes, which also bother visitors. On visiting the market, CE discovered that fish, beef, chicken and other body parts waste lie behind the Russell mutton market. This is picked by the BBMP in trucks only once a huge quantity of meat waste along with other wet waste piles up.

However, until it is picked, the meat rots. A shopkeeper, Syed Ahmed, said, “Shivajinagar market is known for a variety of shops and several locals and the tourists visit here every day. For over a year, I have observed that the tourists, specifically the foreigners, tend to move out of the market area without buying anything. Some tourists have thrown up and feel ill when they walk around the market area due to the stink.”

A resident of Chandigarh who visits Bengaluru often and visited Shivajinagar for the second time, complained, “This market gives me nightmares. Moving around here, I feel like I'm watching a horror movie with flesh lying around in a pool of blood. The conditions were similar when I visited last year as well. Why can’t there be a proper schedule to pick the meat waste and dispose it accordingly?”

Delayed response to traders’ woes

Shopkeepers around Russell Market have alleged that all the meat waste from Shivajinagar is brought and dumped behind Russell Market. Sharing insights over the dumping, Maqsood, a trader, said, “Most of the beef waste is dumped here as they do not have dedicated dumping zones. This way, all of it is piled up  and left to rot until the BBMP truck lifts it. We have raised several complaints about this and the BBMP has assured that the area will be equipped with CCTV cameras to control mass dumping in one area.”

“However, until now, nothing has been done,” complained Maqsood. General Secretary of the RMTA, Choudhary Idris, said, “In 2017, the BBMP had addressed the meat waste dumping issue in Shivajinagar. After this, they had proposed that the market be surrounded with gates on four sides, and CCTV cameras be mounted.” Idris added “The area is yet to be surrounded with gates and CCTVs nowhere to be seen.”
When CE approached local councillor Shakeel, he also claimed that the BBMP Joint Commissioner Sarfaraz Khan had assured six weeks back that the aforementioned gates and cameras will be installed.

“This work is being discussed, while the tender has been passed already. It will be initiated in a month’s time.” Revealing details over the meat waste management, BBMP Joint Commissioner Sarfaraz Khan confirmed, “We have already given the permit to install the CCTV cameras and they will be mounted in a month’s time. Meanwhile, we are also working on a plan where this waste can directly be taken to landfills, rather then depositing it in Shivajinagar.” He also added, “We are also working on ways to educate the traders and the butchers in the area, so that they dump meat waste in a dust bin from where it can be lifted for now.”

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