t’s no secret that the BJP, which has held sway over Bengaluru’s affairs for years, has miserably failed to tackle its garbage troubles. But now after Prime Minister, Narendra Modi’s emphasis on cleanliness during his recent visit to the city, the party seems to be at last picking up the broom to live up to his dream of a ‘Swachh Bengaluru’.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi devoted a big part of his speech to keeping the city clean, indicating how upset he is about Solid Waste Management (SWM) in Bengaluru. It is time his partymen listened to him and made Bengaluru neat and tidy,” says Mr N.S. Ramakanth, member of the Solid Waste Management Round Table (SWMRT). “Reuse and Recycle should be the mantra to effectively solve the garbage crisis. Corporators need to come together and draw a blueprint to process the waste in the wards. If a corporator has the will he can do wonders.
SWM must be made participatory by involving members of ward sabhas. Projects must be executed and not allowed to remain merely on paper,” stresses Ms Mahalakshmi Parthasarathy, secretary Citizens’ Action Forum (CAF). It’s clearly time to act as Bengaluru has only two months left to find an alternative to dumping waste in Mandur and dispose of the 4,000 metric tonnes (MT) of waste it generates every day. Civic activists regret that while the BBMP and state government seem enthusiastic every time a company comes up with a project to dispose of the garbage, it is dumped eventually with no effort made to process the waste into the useful byproducts promised.
Like Ms Parthasarathy, Mr Ramakanth too believes that corporators should deal with garbage disposal in the wards with the help of a ward sabha or ward committee members. “For the SWM to be successful, we need fully segregated units. Contractors should be given the task of segregating the garbage at source and the practice should be complemented by officials and the public. Although eight locations have been given the okay by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) for the processing units, the joint commissioner or zonal commissioners must ensure that they function to capacity. Dumping of garbage should be dumped,” he underlines.
Lakes still crying out for rejuvenation
While none other than the Prime Minister himself is talking of a Swachh Bengaluru, the city’s lakes remain as polluted as ever with indiscriminate discharge of sewage into them. There is also little check on air pollution caused by vehicles in the city.
Blaming the apathy of officials, people’s representatives and Bengalureans themselves for the increasing pollution, Mr D.S. Rajashekar, executive president, Federation of North East Bengaluru Resident Welfare Association, advises people to stop letting sewage into storm water drains that eventually lead to lakes as they are only polluting their own groundwater table and drinking water in the process.
“The lake development authority, the BBMP, and BWSSB must ensure that sewage does not flow into the drains or lakes. Be it an individual or organisation, they must be punished if found guilty of polluting lakes. Punishment is the only deterrent,” he emphasises.
In her maiden speech, mayor M.Shantha Kumari urged all the 198 corporators to inaugurate the ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’. “There is no better and meaningful way to celebrate Gandhi Jayanthi than if every ward kicks off the ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ campaign on October 2. The campaign aims to keep our neighbourhoods clean and every corporator must join hands to achieve this. Mahatma Gandhi dreamt of a clean country and we should make it happen. Now is this time to fulfill his dreams. Let’s work together on making his dreams come true,” she said.
