BENGALURU: A dry waste collection (DWCC) was gutted on Saturday evening in JP Nagar. No casualty was reported, and the police have launched an investigation. The centre, run by a former waste picker, Kumuda, had 16 women working in segregation. According to residents of Ward 177, the centre caught fire around 7:15 pm on Saturday and by 7:45 more than 80 per cent of it was engulfed by the blaze.
Fire department personnel doused the fire but the materials were reduced to ashes. Hasiru Dala, which works for the welfare of the waste pickers, told TNIE that the centre had no electricity which could lead to a short circuit. “The centre used solar power. It recycles dry waste and almost 90 per cent was sent to the aggregators for reuse,” said Bianca, Livelihood Manager, Hasiru Dala.
The entire ward’s dry waste used to come to the centre, which weighed around 80 metric tonnes per month and was segregated by the women. Kumuda was devastated by the incident. “All my hard work is gone but I am determined to rebuild it. I need the support of the BBMP, elected representatives of JP Nagar and the citizens of Ward 177 to stand by me as they always have,” she said, adding that she has incurred Rs 10 lakh loss.
The centre was also a learning space for students, academics, policymakers and citizens to witness how decentralized waste management can be a boon to an area’s cleanliness and promote sustainability. Kumuda had built the centre by taking loans from Self Help Groups (SHGs) and has to repay the loan despite the fire.
The NGO has requested the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to restore the DWCC infrastructure and for the re-construction to begin within a week and to provide all DWCCs in the city with Fire Insurance and provide compensation for the 16 women for at least two weeks.