Nobody appears safe from the pollution caused by the dumping of garbage from the city in villages on its outskirts. It’s not only the adults in the villages of Mavallipura, Mylappanahalli, Ramagondanahalli, Kurubarahalli, Lingarajapura, and Kempapura, who are suffering from a variety of diseases that have suddenly appeared in their midst since the garbage began to be dumped in their vicinity, but also children.
Ten-year-old Suresh who was like any other child, playing with his friends and going to school, suddenly found his legs and arms going weak about a year-and-a-half ago and now cannot do any of the things he was used to doing in the past. “My legs and arms feel drained of all strength and I cannot even stand without help from my parents or siblings,” says the boy, who often went to the landfill to collect plastic and other scrap material to sell in the market and make some money. When his limbs began to weaken doctors blamed his exposure to the unhygienic conditions at the landfill, says his father, Narayanswamy.
As BBMP and Ramky Infrastructure Limited continue to dump garbage here without taking the basic precautions, people of at least 10 villages appear to be suffering the effects of slow poison as untreated leachate from the waste seeps into the ground, polluting all water sources. “People of several villages are suddenly finding themselves victims of renal failure, cancer and other diseases,” says a villager, Jayaram. “Not only is our drinking water unsafe but also the vegetables that we grow in the fields,” complain other villagers.
When the first truck arrived to unload rubbish from the city in the designated dumpyard here in 2007, the illiterate villagers had no idea what was in store for them and went about their livelihoods of grazing sheep, goats and cattle on the land near it without a care, never suspecting that their health could be at stake, recalls Jayaram.
Meanwhile, as the dumping continues, doctors at M.S. Ramaiah and other reputed hospitals have told S.N. Ravi, one of the villagers diagnosed with renal failure four years ago, that he could be suffering from the disease as a result of it. “I also have diabetes and am undergoing dialysis. I am, however, managing to meet my medical expenses with the help of friends,” says Ravi, who is not able to find a bride because of his deteriorating health. He did try to hide his ailment from a prospective bride, but the truth was out before they could tie the knot and the wedding was called off, clearly demonstrating that the repercussions of the unscientific garbage disposal here go beyond the physical, compounding the misery of the people in other ways too.
Although the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) claims it has been slapping notices on the authorities concerned for failing to implement the Municipal Solid Waste Rules 2000, it has nothing to show for it as the practice brazenly continues even till today.