BENGALURU: The Solid Waste Management (SWM) plant at Chikkanagamangala continues to ring alarm bells for residents of Electronics City. With several people falling ill, they remain worried if the polluted air could cause long-term health issues. Even though the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) brought in an independent technical expert from Coimbatore to inspect the plant, and took various interim measures to improve the waste management system, residents feel that the steps were not enough.
Yogendra Trivedi, an IT professional who has been living in the area for two years, has been suffering from blisters and rashes on his neck. Since he has never faced the condition before, Trivedi feels that the polluted air could be the reason behind it. “I mostly work from home and am more exposed to the air here. Three days ago, I had left the window open at night and was choking because of the polluted air. This used to be a beautiful place until the plant re-opened in January last year,” he said, adding that several other residents have been suffering from cough, cold, respiratory issues and fever.
“The garbage continues to burn outside the plant every day after 5 pm, which makes the situation worse,” said Pranay Dubay, a business analyst and a resident who has been working closely with BBMP officials. “The assistant engineer-in-charge of the plant has not been responding to us, citing election duty. The engineer stated that there is no equipment to check the odour in the air when these are actually available in plenty. We are waiting for the special commissioner of SWM for further action. It has been a month now and no action has been taken so far,” he added.
BBMP AE of the plant, Mamatha, declined to comment on the issue.Residents have also staged protests, demanding shutdown of the plant, since December last year, and had started a petition that forced the BBMP to address the issue.