Citizens on mission to clean up Shivajinagar
BENGALURU: The garbage dumping problem at two spots in Shivajinagar are all set to get cleaned up thanks to local residents. The spots behind St Xavier’s Boys School premises and another one near Shivajinagar Circle and Bus depot are perennial dumping sites, and residents are fed up.
From today these spots won’t just be cleaned, there will also be a system in place to deter further dumping. The residents have asked for two garbage trucks stationed at the site at all times as well as the installation of CCTV cameras.
Vidya Rurdesh, a resident of Sampagiramnagar who stays very close to the two spots, says that she sees a number of people on scooters and in cars from localities nearby throw garbage there daily. “The problem with these two places is not that the local authorities are lax. Cleaning takes place daily by the pourakaramikas, and the BBMP also collects waste everyday from these spots. However, the frequency of waste being thrown is so much that it immediately piles up again.” There are police quarters near the dumping site at the school and the circle, and a number of houses nearby.
Residents like Vidya and other local leaders have organised a spot fix on Monday that will involve as many as 100 people. Not only do they plan to clean the place up, but they will also plant saplings and spread awareness to deter people from throwing garbage at the two places. The event is organised by residents along with the BBMP and the Bangalore Political Action Committee or BPAC.
M S Sufiyan, another resident of the area, says the efforts for the cleanup had already started four days ago. “There will be a door-to-door collection and awareness drive so that people are aware of what they are doing. As many as 50 saplings will be planted near Xavier’s School. The wall near the garbage dumps will be painted. Once a place is beautified, people have the tendency to stop dumping, as we have seen at numerous spot fixes,” he says.
Month-long study was done
Local residents did a study to find how dumping takes place in the area. The month-long observation concluded that residents from the areas dumped the garbage mostly at around 10am or 11 am. BBMP trucks, however, come to the place early in the morning. “As a result of this, we see garbage the whole day, and it seems like it is never cleaned,” says Sufiyan.
Students join mission too
There are as many as 950 students at Xavier’s School. As many as 40 to 50 students will participate in the cleaning and awareness drive.
Numerous dengue, malaria cases
There have also been numerous cases of people suffering from diseases such as malaria, dengue from the areas around the dumping site, says Sufiyan. Vidya further states that water from the garbage dumps also lead to foul smell all around the area that becomes unbearable when it rains. The residents also met the Assistant Executive Engineer of Solid Waste Management, BBMP, and he will also take part in the awareness drive.