Bengaluru: For residents of Ilyaz Nagar and surrounding areas, a repeat of the Mandur landfill has come close to home. While the Mandur residents conducted a very public protest and succeeded in finding a solution, the residents of Ilyaz Nagar have remained anonymous though the ‘mini’ landfill in their locality is right on a busy road.
Mounds of garbage mixed with construction debris, meat waste and burnt rubbish have been lying on the footpath for the past several months. A foul odour emanates from the garbage pile all through the day and the mess flows on to the road during rainy days.
The residents, however, don’t blame the BBMP officials alone for these miserable conditions. They say the hawkers and shop owners who dump waste on the garbage pile in the wee hours, must share responsibility. Aijaz Khan, who owns a steel shop opposite the garbage dump, says cleaning has become a useless task since people from different areas throw garbage on the footpath.
“It’s not just the residents of our area, even residents of Sarakki, Kadrenahalli and Kumaraswamy Layout, who dump garbage while driving by in vehicles. In the early hours, all the meat stall owners throw their waste. The stench is unbearable,” he rued. Mr Khan added that the mound which looked like a mountain was recently leveled when following heavy rains.
Anjuma, another resident, complained that garbage disposal was a problem in the locality as pourakarmikas don’t collect garbage regularly, forcing citizens to dump it on the street. “The meat stall owners should not be allowed to walk free. They burn garbage every evening and create a nuisance. If punished, they won’t dare to dispose of meat waste in such an unhealthy way,” she said.
BBMP commissioner M.Lakshminarayan, who seemed surprised at the events taking place in Ilyaz Nagar, said he would initiate measures to stop dumping of garbage on the footpath. “Burning garbage is banned and it is dangerous, especially in areas where people reside in close proximity to the dump. “I will instruct the officials to clear garbage regularly,” he assured.
