BENGALURU: Over the past two months, trucks have been illegally dumping tonnes of garbage in a privately owned land right behind the landfill at Mandur. Residents had managed to get the dumping stopped after concerted efforts and complaints to the police.
When The New Indian Express visited the spot, the site had small mounds and traces of leftover garbage indicating that the trash had been cleared only recently. Manjunath Rao (39), a resident of Mandur, said, “We would see trucks containing tonnes of garbage dumping at this unfenced site at night. The owner does not live in Mandur. We have seen 250-300 truckloads being dumped here. Each load has 25-30 tonnes of garbage. These trucks collect garbage from apartments and dump it here quietly for a price.”
Manjunath Rao (34) runs Sai Tea Stall next to Mandur Primary Health Centre. He had posted pictures and videos on his Facebook page to increase awareness on social media about the illegal dumping. “We wanted more people to know, especially Mandur residents. After much difficulty, we managed to get the landfill closed, but now such sinister activities happen at night,” he said.
Janardhan Gowda, head of Mandur Gram Panchayat, said, “We complained to the police and got the truck drivers themselves to clear the garbage. On talking to the drivers we came to know that they travelled from Bengaluru city every night to dump garbage there. We have not registered an official police complaint though. When the landfill was operational, even our relatives would refuse to visit us. How can we let illegal dumping go on here?”
Alahalli police station sub-inspector Shivakumar said there was no formal complaint booked and hence no arrests. In the past, BBMP sent waste to places near Bengaluru including Mavallipura, Doddballapur Road and Magadi Road among others.