BENGALURU: Following record rainfall this month, with areas like Yelahanka and Mahadevapura getting battered by the downpour earlier this week, Bengaluru is now staring at a garbage problem. According to officials from the Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited (BSWML), owing to heavy rainfall, loaded compactors are stuck near Mitaganahalli landfill in the Mahadevapura zone, and Bellahalli landfill in the Yelahanka zone.
The BBMP collects around 3,500 tonnes of waste daily, which is transported to these landfills for scientific capping. Since there was rain, the loaded trucks got struck, hindering waste collection on Tuesday and Wednesday, resulting in garbage being piled up across the city. The waste collection resumed only on Friday.
“Waste collection was severely hit in Yelahanka, Dasarahalli, and Mahadevpura zones for three days. As a result, heaps of waste were seen dumped across the city. The trucks could not move due to water stagnation on the road and also due to the slushy route at the yards,” said a senior engineer from BSWML. He added this impacted daily waste collection, resulting in a backlog of over 5,000 tonnes of waste.
“The unloading of the daily collection is happening and if there is no rain on Saturday and Sunday, we will be able to clear all the backlogs,” said the engineer, adding that on Monday, the BBMP will chair a meeting regarding setting up of four integrated waste-to-energy plants on the city’s outskirts, and once this is cleared and the infrastructure is set up, the waste from the city will be channelised into these areas.