Residents living around the Karnataka Compost Development Corporation (KCDC) plant in Somasundarapalya have started an online petition demanding closure of the plant. The petition had received more than 3,000 votes till Thursday.
Residents say the amount of waste being brought to the plant daily has risen to 200 tonnes from the usual 150 tonnes. In the past few days, the stench has spread further, including Sectors 1, 2, 3 and 4 in HSR Layout.
“In the past three to four days, the smell has extended up to 4 km around the plant, depending on the direction of the wind,” said Ravinder Banyal, a scientist with the Indian Institute of Astrophysics and a resident of Somasundarapalya. He said he has not been able to sleep in the last one week because of the stench.
Mr. Banyal said civic officials have often claimed only a few people are protesting against the plant. The signature campaign is proof this is not the case. “The campaign was launched on Tuesday. We managed to get 3,000 votes in three days. This shows how widespread the problem is,” he said.
The KCDC plant has been a bone of contention between residents and civic officials, with the latter claiming that the plant is necessary to manage wet waste disposal in the city.