Residents protest lack of doorstep waste collection

BENGALURU: Residents of Munnekolala near Marathahalli on Sunday descended near the railway line, which cuts through their locality, demanding the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) put in place a better garage disposal system.
The protest site was chosen by residents to highlight all that ails the solid waste management system in their locality; the area around the railway line has become an illegal dump yard. On Sunday, too, people kept coming in bikes and cars to dump garbage near the railway line, even as the demonstration was under way.

"It was shocking to see people carry bags of garbage on two-wheelers and cars and throw them here. When questioned, some of them complained of lack of garbage disposal facilities,"said Prem Nath, a resident of Munnekolala.

The protest was preceded by a vigil residents kept at the site for three consecutive nights, during which they found that people from restaurants, hotels and other food joints dumped garbage on the tracks.

Residents said the biggest problem was absence of garbage collection in the area. Shamir, a resident, said BBMP does not send its vehicles to lift garbage from doorsteps and other establishments, forcing people to store it indoors. "The concept of door-to-door garbage collection is missing and we have no choice but to throw garbage outside," he added.

The problem is acute on 6th and 7th Cross of Munnekolala, where residents have begun throwing garbage in open areas. "Lack of a proper disposal system is forcing me to throw garbage in open areas. If I don't do so, garbage piles up inside my house and it starts stinking," said Preethi K, a resident of Munnekolala.

The residents have now formed a group - Protest against Garbage - to lobby for a solution to the menace.

On March 24, they had staged a similar protest at the railway line. The BBMP promptly cleaned up the area, but soon garbage was back on the tracks. "We want the BBMP to come with up a permanent solution and also ensure door-to-door collection," said Sunand K, another resident.

BBMP's AEE (SWM) Mamatha MS said they have initiated action against illegal garbage dumping and have also been asking the local health officer to check the place frequently. She asserted the problem will be resolved in three days.