Bengaluru: Winter may have receded in Bengaluru but a smoky fog seems to be hanging over several localities of late. The reason? Dry leaves found fallen on the ground from trees are being regularly burnt in residential areas, parks and even commercial localities.
Says a resident of Koramangala sixth block, Malhar, “The post-winter months are ‘smoky’ in my neighbourhood. Most evenings we find someone has set fire to dry leaves accumulated outside a park or piled up in a corner of the road as the pourakarmikas refuse to clear them.”
Aware of the problem, the BBMP decided to use leaves shredders in 2012, but the agency’s tenders to operate them had no takers. So it locked them away in its zonal offices. Horticulture department officials now say the shredders are being used in some zones but with only 20 of the machines in good shape, it's not possible to treat all the fallen leaves in the city.
“There are two shredders in some zones while others have only one. So sometimes pourakarmikas take the easy way out and set the leaves on fire,” said one official.
Deputy director, horticulture , (BBMP), Raghu says though the leaves must be shredded and composted to produce manure, it’s not being followed in all zones.
BBMP Standing Committee (horticulture) chairperson, Padmavathi
Narasimhamurthy too agrees that burning of leaves is on the rise in the city and says the committee has been holding meetings with ward-level BBMP officials to take action against those responsible.
Notice to BBMP
Meanwhile, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board chairman, Lakshman, says a notice was issued to the BBMP two weeks ago on the burning of leaves in the city. “When dry leaves are burnt it produces a toxic waste causing air pollution. It causes lung problems and in some cases cancer when the fumes are regularly inhaled. Moreover, burning dry leaves produces carbon monoxide which is harmful for people with respiratory problems,” he pointed out.
