Bangalore, August 15: The city could once again be in the throes of a full-blown garbage crisis. The communities living around the landfill in Mandur, on the city’s outskirts, have given the government and the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) time till Monday to get their act together, failing which they have threatened to stop lorries from dumping the city’s waste in their backyard.
Rakesh Gowda, member of Mandur Gram Panchayat, told The Hindu on Wednesday that the BBMP had not taken up spraying of EM (effective microorganism) solution to prevent the stench from spreading for nearly three months now. He alleged that the civic body had not cleared bills for drinking water supplied through tankers to five villages surrounding the landfill — Mandur, Jyothipura, Kammasandra, Gundur and Byappanahalli — as promised.
Mr. Gowda said a delegation from these villages, accompanied by Arvind Limbavali, MLA, met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah earlier this month and apprised him of the situation near the landfill. He said that Mr. Siddaramaiah was also shown a video on how the waste had polluted groundwater.
Last year, the garbage problem erupted after Varamahalakshmi festival. “With several festivals coming up, the quantum of waste is bound to increase. We will not sit quiet if the BBMP does not take up spraying and release our pending bills,” he threatened.
‘For a study’
Munikrishna, BBMP’s chief engineer, Mahadevapura zone, conceded that the civic body had stopped spraying the EM solution, but said this was only to study its effectiveness.
“We stopped spraying around 10 days ago. Experts from Indian Institute of Science are conducting a study on the effectiveness of the solution in arresting the stench. After they complete the study, spraying will be resumed. In all probability, it will be taken up again by August 18,” he claimed.
He also admitted to delays in releasing the drinking water bills.
He claimed that the communities had submitted the bills late and they would be cleared soon. The funds are directly remitted to the gram panchayat.
