Locals to move court over KCDC plant

BENGALURU:Residents around the Karnataka Compost Development Corporation (KCDC) plant in Kudlu will file a petition in the High Court to shut down the plant due to foul odour emanating from it.

Residents have been protesting against the plant for years and claim the stench has worsened of late. Some residents have also claimed it has affected their health and led to respiratory and skin-related problems.

However, a Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) official claimed that a bio-filter has been installed which has reduced the stench, and said the residents are exaggerating.

Resident Kamesh Rastogi said an association called KHHSP (Kudlu, Haralukunte, Hosapalya, Somsundarpalya, Parangipalya) residents' welfare association, formed to protest against the plant, will file a petition at the High Court within a few days. "We have given the officials enough time but in vain. I cannot even step out go to my balcony due to the smell," Rastogi said. His residence is over a kilometer away from the plant.

Manish Ojha, another resident with his home less than a km away from the plant, suffered from allergic rhinitis before he moved into his current house. He says his condition has worsened after moving, and he has contacted bronchitis too.

"My doctor knows about the odour here and he told me that was causing me these problems. My mother and several other residents are also suffering from respiratory issues," he said.

Joint Commissioner, BBMP (Bommanahalli zone), Veerabhadra Swamy, who oversees operations at the plant, claimed that the bio-filter installed at the plant had greatly reduced the odour and residents were exaggerating its extent. "The long-time residents have no issues with the smell. It is only the apartment dwellers who have problems. They just want to shut it down and build a park in its place," he said. He added that the plant currently receives only 80 tonnes of waste per day.

Residents have also alleged that the plant causes environmental pollution. Another resident Kavitha Reddy said leachate from the plant often enters Somasundarpalya lake. According to Rastogi, a large amount of refuse-derived fuel has been dumped on the lake bed and the waste being processed, which is supposed to be wet waste, is actually mixed waste.