Bengaluru: BJP corporator blocks road, stops garbage disposal

BENGALURU: The city’s garbage collection and dumping came to a standstill on Saturday after protesters led by BJP corporator Muneendra Kumar stopped garbage trucks from entering the dumping site at Bellahalli, about 21km from the city.
Nearly 4,500 tonnes of garbage were prevented from being dumped at the quarry.
The ward no. 5 corporator was supported by SR Vishwanath, Yelahanaka MLA (BJP) and the opposition leader in Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), Padmanabha Reddy.
Although, on the face of it, the demand was to stop sending Bengaluru’s waste to Bellahalli quarry, which is being used by the civic agency since two years, other corporators allege the protest is motivated by the fact that the Palike hasn’t sanctioned adequate funds for the development of villages surroundings Bellahalli.
The protesters, at the behest of Kumar, used earth-moving equipment to dig up a stretch of the road leading to the dumping site to prevent trucks from going ahead. Sources said around 300 trucks are sent to Bellahalli daily.
Vishwanath told TOI the coalition government had diverted all funds reserved for creating various garbage dumping areas. These funds are being spent only in Byatrayanpura assembly constituency and other areas are being neglected, he claimed.
The BJP corporators even distributed pamphlets to the villagers to join the protest. Sources said the BBMP has allotted Rs 101 crore for the developments of Bellahalli and surrounding villages, of which Rs 48 crore has been allotted to ward no. 5 represented by Kumar.
BBMP commissioner N Manjunatha has assured to resolve the issue.
Protest to continue
Vishwanath said the protests will continue and no truck would be allowed to enter the site. “Let the respective wards dispose its waste locally. Why are they spoiling the atmosphere of other villages?” he asked. From Sunday, all BJP corproators will start participating in the agitation, he added.