For over two months now the BBMP has been struggling to find a solution to the garbage crisis plaguing the city. Several schemes have failed to yield results. Civic experts have now suggested that BBMP use a part of parks and civic amenities’ sites to segregate and dispose waste. But won’t that just turn parks into trash bins, ask Chandrashekhar G. and Akanksha Mehrotra

With Bengaluru having turned into a ‘trash city’ over the last couple of months, civic experts are now
coming out with desperate solutions to the garbage problem haunting it.

The latest suggestion is for a portion of parks and vacant civic amenity sites to be used for segregation and processing of the waste littering the streets.

But it has set off alarm bells as Bengalureans fear their remaining lung spaces and playgrounds could be turned into dumping yards and make the problem much worse than it is already.

A member of the Solid Waste Management Round Table (SWMRT), Sandhya Narayanan, says if the BBMP goes ahead with using parks for dealing with the garbage, it must make sure that they are not converted into dump yards attracting bandicoots, rats and snakes through poor handling of the waste.

“Ideally, shredders should be installed near the parks and markets to reduce the bulk of the garbage and allow its conversion into compost,” she suggests, lamenting that the BBMP has miserably failed in identifying immediate, short term and long term solutions for the garbage problem confronting the city. “Pourakarmikas and ragpickers could be engaged to segregate the waste and kabbadiwalas used for recycling some of it. This basic effort has been ignored by the BBMP,” she regrets.

Ms Vani Murthy, a solid waste management expert, who believes that its best to decentralise garbage disposal at the community or ward level, doesn’t see why parks and playgrounds cannot be used for the purpose. “Waste management needs to be dealt with in multiple ways. A portion of the parks can be used for segregation and composting. Citizens should be involved in this community
project,” she suggests.

Founder of Loksatta Party, Dr. Meenakshi Bharat, too feels that composting of waste in parks is a good idea. “If a portion of the park is utilised for waste management, it will not make a difference,” she maintains.

A member of Hasirudala, Pinky Chandran, who has been advocating segregation and processing at source, feels parks and other open spaces should be used only for secondary segregation of garbage. “A portion of a park, a playground or any open space can be used for segregation provided it is only secondary waste,” she says, adding that segregation of waste must be built into people’s every day lives if it has to be effective.

The message that Bengalureans seem to be sending across then appears to be that while it is a good idea to have community segregation and composting of waste, the BBMP needs to proceed with caution. After all, the Garden City cannot afford to turn even its parks into trash bins.

Not a clean november

While the city was hoping for some relief on the garbage front with the new contractors who were expected to sweep its streets and collect and segregate garbage from every home from mid-November, it may have to wait longer.

The contractors have sought 15 days more to settle down and finds ways and means for clearing the garbage effectively. The new contractors, including BVG India Pvt. Ltd, which has bagged the bulk of the work, have not yet submitted details of men and machinery they intend to deploy for the task.

In the meanwhile, the old contractors are continuing to clear the garbage and are doing an even worse job of it than usual as they have little interest left in the task, according to corporation sources.

Siddaiah back in hot seat?

Former BBMP commissioner, H. Siddaiah, who was shunted out of the BBMP for exposing the multi-crore bogus bill racket through the Technical Vigilance Committee under Commissioner (TVCC) and bringing financial discipline in the agency, is being considered once again for the post by deputy chief
minister R. Ashok and mayor D. Venkatesh Murthy, according to official sources.

Mr Siddaiah,who was also humiliated and kept waiting for a post for almost two months and subjected to Lokayukta raids, appears to be in the running again.

When asked if he was up for the challenge, Mr Siddaiah told Deccan Chronicle, “I will take it on only if I am given full freedom in dealing with civic issues. If the government shows enough confidence in me to make me the BBMP chief for a second tenure it will refurbish my image.”

GUEST COLUMN

R.K. Mishra,ABIDe member

BBMP’s garbage segregation initiative, though far from being perfect, is commendable. It should have been initiated a long time ago. But that is no surprise, given that the BBMP has been consistent in mismanaging the city’s growing needs.

The problem is partly due to incompetent hands running the agency. We need to ensure that people running municipal governments, politicians and bureaucrats alike, have experience and understanding of complicated issues of managing urban infrastructure and civic amenities.

The current garbage segregation initiative hasn’t been thought through and ignores practical difficulties. Given that the BBMP was forced to start garbage segregation in haste due to the villagers’ protest and the HC directive, it has been unable to plan it scientifically. Its plan to take wet waste to landfill sites 30 to 50 kms away defeats the purpose.

KSPCB chairman, Dr. Vaman Acharya, has rightly refused to give it permission for this. Segregation should eliminate the need for them because wet/organic waste can be converted into compost and most of the dry waste recycled, except for hazardous and non-recyclable waste.

City dwellers should be responsible for their waste instead of dumping it in a remote village as this is unethical. Existing parks and BBMP/government land in each ward can be used to prepare scientific composting pits.

Care should be taken to ensure that neighbouring communities do not have to put up with foul smells or other inconveniences. Local wet waste should be composted in the same ward where it is generated and dry waste sold to private recycling companies.

This will hurt the interests of BBMP corporators who have garbage contracting businesses and are paid by the volume of garbage and distance it has to travel to reach the landfills. I hope that they cooperate in the larger good of Bengaluru and its people.