BENGALURU : On Saturday, the HC directed the BBMP to rid the city of garbage by October 31. However, only time will tell if the corporation will be able to clear the city’s numerous black spots. One such area that is ridden with piles of garbage is Rajarajeshwari Nagar (RR Nagar), where, residents say, illegal dumping has been going on for years.
Despite several complaints to the BBMP, residents say no action has been taken. But the BBMP claims that they clear the area regularly.A resident from Poornapragna Layout, said, “There are times when BBMP auto tippers don’t do door-to-door waste collection for days. Our only option is to leave the garbage outside our homes.”
The Assistant Executive Engineer (AEE) for Solid Waste Management (SWM), Umesh, claimed that currently, segregation work is underway, and that tipper trucks and autos are also clearing the garbage. “We have a record of all the places where people are dumping garbage, and will be clearing it soon.”
Startups step inTo ease the garbage menace, some startups in the area have been consulting the corporation, or have taken up the responsibility of educating residents on managing waste using technology. An expert in SWM, Nupur Tandon, said, “The BBMP is facing major issues in handling waste throughout the city. There are no tools to segregate waste. The responsibility of waste collection is handed over to a contractor, who doesn’t bother.”
Another waste management solutions company Quantum Green Biogas Products and Waste Management Solutions, is also doing its bit in educating residents on handling wet waste. The founder Vinayak Keshayap, said, “We worked with the BBMP for a year, during which we also proposed a waste segregation yard. However, due to a lack of segregation units, the idea didn’t work out, and since then, we have been operating on our own.”
In order to separate wet waste, Keshyap has introduced the concept of ‘anaerobic digestion plants’, which he proposed to the residents, which helps breakdown wet waste into biodegradable material. “Post decomposition, all the wet waste is converted into biogas in this plant, which can then be utilised. We had also proposed a plan to generate electricity by installing a biogas unit to the BBMP,” he said.