BENGALURU: Villagers in Mandur are already in a celebratory mood. In another fortnight, trucks carrying garbage from Bengaluru city are expected to stop coming to the village.
To celebrate the event, residents are planning a Oora Habba (village festival) in the first week of December. Sridhar, a resident, said they are planning a procession in which freedom fighter H S Doreswamy will be taken in a bullock cart.
“He not only fought for the nation’s freedom seven decades ago but also fought for us in getting freedom from waste,” he said.
The date for the festival has not been fixed but it will be held in the first week of December, he added.
Mahesha R, a farmer, said the residents have bought crackers for the festival. “It will be a late Diwali for Mandur residents and it is better late than never,” he said.
Shivaji Rao, another resident, said they will put up a big pandal. “We will also put up a big cut-out of Chief Minister Siddaramiah as it is because of him that we can actually get rid of this. We are planning to distribute sweets to the entire village,” he said.
Mohan, a farmer who grows grapes at Mandur, said he has asked his wife to prepare holige, payasa and other dishes.
“We are finally getting rid of the waste. We too can live with good air and water like any other village. Now, we can invite our relatives to come and stay at our house. All these years, they were not staying at our house due to the smell,” he said.
Despite the celebratory mood, some villagers remain skeptical. One of them, Venkatesh, said, “It is good that the chief minister intervened and garbage will not be dumped at our backyard. But when are they getting rid of the accumulated garbage?
“Now that no more waste will be dumped here, the BBMP and the state government might forget us and the old waste,” he said.