BBMP, forest dept to clear forest of trash

BENGALURU: City Express had published an article (September 18) on how a small forest - Gunjur Palaya forest near Panathur in Krishnarajapuram taluk -- was turning into a garbage dump. The report brought the issue to the notice of the forest department, which is now considering construction of a compound wall to prevent further damage.

After it was cleared  Pushkar V

CE reported that lorries and smaller transport vehicles are being used to transport garbage and Dipika Bajpai, Deputy Conservator of Forests (Bengaluru Urban) has issued a show-cause notice to three forest department officials who failed to prevent the offenders.
“We are doing our best to protect the forest,” she said, “On Sunday, we stopped a lorry that tried to leave garbage behind and made the driver clear the pile.” During the crackdown, the department officials also came across an illegal road cut through the forest and leading to a private layout. “We are planning to take over the road,” she said.
The immediate priority is clearing the trash, she said. “We have already written to the city corporation to take action,” said Bajpai.
City Express visited the forest and found that there are the same number of garbage piles, but they are smaller now.
Local residents are happy with the progress in reclaiming the forest. “We found a decrease in garbage, though waste and debris still remain in the forest,” said Shalini Sashidharan. “We are planning a cleaning drive on October 2 with 25 volunteers from Asset Aura apartments, which is located right next to the forest. In addition, we have sought the help of BBMP to clear the garbage and they have agreed to do so.”
Sarfaraz Khan, BBMP’s Joint Commissioner (Health), had made a visit to the forest following CE’s report. “I have inspected the place and given an order to clear the garbage from the forest,” he said. “We have cleared almost 70-80% of it.”
We pointed out that there are still garbage piles in parts of the forest and he requested the local residents to help BBMP catch the culprits. “Alert us and give us information about the culprits,” he said, “then I will take severe action against offenders”. He also assured support for the cleaning drive by the local residents.