Bengaluru: The day after Thursdays’ Ayudha Puja, streets and footpaths in the city have turned into dump yards with traders leaving behind mounds of unsold plantain leaves, pumpkins and other festival material.
This has increased the amount of solid waste in the city by at least 40 per cent, posing a challenge to the BBMP. The market areas at City Market, Yeshwanthpur and Madiwala have big piles of garbage, which are an eyesore.
BBMP Joint Commissioner (solid waste management) Sarfaraz Khan said that festivals generate large amounts of additional garbage, putting pressure on the civic body. Especially during Dasara, plantain and pumpkin and other unsold materials are left behind on the road side by traders who come in from different parts around the city. If left unattended, these materials rot and spread an unbearable stench, he said.
All the markets were monitored on Friday and some of the shops were raided for selling banned polythene bags. Additional garbage trucks have been mobilised to clear the accumulated garbage at markets and on the roadside, he said.
Some farmers have shown interest in collecting the market waste which is free of plastic and other non-biodegradable material to turn it into compost. Farmers from different parts have asked the BBMP to send trucks to their lands. The BBMP is too happy to share it with the farmers, instead of sending it to the landfills that are already stressed, Mr Khan said.
Contractors have been directed to deploy at least 10 vehicles or more at all zones, especially in core areas of the city, East, West and South zones, he said.
