Bengaluru: The February 11 protest against the Karnataka Compost Development Corporation (KCDC) plant by the HSR Layout residents seems to have fallen on deaf ears. The stench emanating from the Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) has made Somasundarapalaya and its vicinity inhabitable.
“There is absolutely no response from the civic agency officials. More than 8,000 MT of RDF has been piled up at the lake bed, but apart from assurances we have not seen any concrete step on the ground,” said Kamlesh Rastogi, a member of Kudlu, Haralukunte, Hosapalya, Somsundarapalya and Parangipalya (KHHSP) Resident Welfare Association.
On February 21, a fire broke out on the KCDC premises and it rang alarm bells and the issue of removal of RDF was raised once again. Rastogi alleged that the BBMP and KCDC officials have stopped entertaining their calls.
The residents allege that the though the plant’s capacity is only 70 tonnes, the intake is around 180-200 tonnes. The KSDC, however, maintains that the plant’s capacity is 500 tonnes. Somasundarapalaya lake, the only water body in the vicinity is spread around 16 acres and 29 guntas, but is has shrunk as four acres and one gunta has been encroached by illegal houses. The lake has become the garbage dumping area and the residents allege that the water body is infested by leachate.
The members of (KHHSP) Resident Welfare Association have been fighting against the alleged violation of norms by the KCDC. Though in the Joint Action Team (JAT) meeting the officials assured an end to the stench by January 18, the problem persists with the foul smell-diffusing into residential complexes within a radius of 1.5 kilometres.
The KCDC is tasked to remove 100 tonnes of processed waste, out of which only 30 tonnes is removed on a daily basis.
BBMP Joint Commissioner (Bommanahalli zone) had earlier said that barring a few residents in the vicinity, the majority are happy with the action taken by the civic agency that managed to remove over 1 lakh litres of leachate from the old stock.
