Bengaluru: Every nook and corner in the city is turning into a dump yard, as people are dumping garbage wherever they find empty spots. But Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, during the presentation of his maiden budget on Thursday, did not utter a single word about the prevailing garbage menace in the city. Bengaluru residents are fuming that he di not have a mention of the garbage menace, the problems of pourakarmikas or tackling garbage-related issues. Dustbins are missing in most parts of the city, while pourakarmikas are irregular in collecting garbage from door-to-door.
Santosh Shivakumar, a resident of Shanthinagar and a lecturer at a well-known college in the city, said, “There are no dustbins or compactor bins anywhere and people will definitely dump garbage wherever they can and we can’t blame them.” He said that the BBMP should place separate garbage bins for wet and dry waste in every area and people will find it easy to leave their garbage in these bins. “It will be easy for the pourakarmikas too to collect the garbage without any hassles. They have two options, the first one is placing of the old styled cement bins and the second is compactor bins, which are less messy. The authorities can check on feasibility of both and make arrangements,” he said.
Rishikesh, working with an NGO, said that the future for the city looks bleak if the current situation continues. “The BBMP and government should start placing neatly covered dust bins in every area and tell citizens to throw garbage at designated places and assign a limited number of pourakarmikas to collect it every day at a fixed time. There is no need for the BBMP to hire thousands of pourakarmikas and struggle to pay their salaries. Their services can be used for better purposes. By placing the bins, they can hire a limited number of pourakarmikas and the money paid to garbage contractors can also be reduced.” Rishikesh said, “Nothing is impossible, but the authorities just find ways to make money. The compactor bins will also make the city look clean and it is easier for people to dump their garbage in them.”
