Bengaluru: Residents of HSR Layout are celebrating the Dasara amid stink from the Karnataka Compost Development Corporation (KCDC) plant at Kudlu. Though one of the promises made during the Assembly elections from different parties was to shut down the plant, no effort has been made to either stop the foul smell or to shift the plant, the residents alleged.
They call the plant a biological bomb, citing several instances of fire from refuse-derived fuel (RDF) stored on the plant premises. In June, smoke from the RDF godown was noticed thrice, they said.
“On October 10, the situation was unbearable as the stench spread over a 2 km radius and our eyes were burning. Local representatives had promised to improve the situation, but now it turns out that it was only an election jumla. This is a humanitarian issue. People are dying daily,” warned Mr Kamesh Rastogi, a member of Kudlu, Haralukunte, Hosapalya, Somasundarapalya and Parangipalya (KHHSP) Resident Welfare Association.
The plant reportedly receives 130 tonnes of waste every day from Bommanahalli zone, which is way above its operating capacity, they said.
The residents have started #righttobreathe to draw the attention of the BBMP and representatives. In February, they formed a human chain and have repeatedly approached local political representatives to get the work done, but with no success.
During Ganesha Chaturthi, the residents used emoji covering the nose on Twitter and wished Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, the mayor and BBMP commissioner.
Calls to BBMP Commissioner Manjunath Prasad remained unanswered.
