Bengaluru: Trouble never seems to end for people who live near HAL or around Wind Tunnel Road. Every day, the children who attend the local schools in Murugeshpalya have to make their way past mountains of garbage that line the streets all the way from ISRO gate to the HAL boundary. Four major dumps have been positioned at intervals and it is the BBMP’s custom to gather trash from the entire area, bring it to this spot and segregate it, a blatant violation of the rules. Dogs, cattle and rats swarm around these areas and the stench is unbearable as work continues through the day.
Around 2 tonnes of waste is dumped here on a daily basis, brought in vans. The segregation takes place throughout the day and the separated waste is then carried in BBMP garbage trucks, which are also parked here from morning till night. “It's alright for people like us who drive through those roads in our air-conditioned cars, but the children are the worst hit," said Mr Kirit Manek, Vice-President of a Bengaluru-based company and a resident of Chalagatta. Mr Manek organised a cleaning drive in the area on Sunday, but admits that very few people were willing to help.
“The land belongs to the Murugeshpalya Air Force Station, but they haven't reacted to the mess," said Mr Manek. "We did approach the Commander of the base once, but he was not in office and there has been no response since." The BBMP's only answer is that there is no other place to segregate waste. Adding to the mess are numerous hawkers who have set up shop along the pavement, leaving no space for the pedestrians.
Further up the road is a small nala, which adjoins more defence land and the Karnataka Golf Course. Construction debris is brought from across the city and dumped here. "There is so much garbage to deal with that as soon as one lot is moved out, another is dumped in its place," he said. "The stench is unbearable and there is no respite."
A local NGO, the Namma Bengaluru Foundation, has gotten into the act in this area and hopes to have the contractor concerned blacklisted by the BBMP. "Since it is HAL and defence land, the law says that the BBMP cleans the area and presents them with a bill," said Sridhar Pabbisetty, CEO, NBF.
The organisation is trying to create a network that has residents and resident welfare association point out trouble areas, which will then be brought to the notice of the authorities. "Why should citizens go around doing the BBMP's work for them?" demanded Mr Pabbisetty. "Our plan is to bring the issue to the notice of the contractor and if he doesn't respond, we will have him blacklisted."
