Bengaluru: Dasara festival might have ended, but the mess it has left behind is yet to be cleared in the city. At K.R. Market, Madiwala, Malleswaram, Gandhi Bazaar, Wilson Garden, Shivajinagar, Sirsi Circle, Kalasipalyam, V.V. Puram, Jayanagar and other areas, there are mountains of plantain leaves, ash gourds and flower garlands that were not sold and left behind by street traders.
When Ms G. Padmavathi was the mayor, discussions were held on keeping a watch on farmers and traders who come to the city with goods loaded into autos and tempos, sell however much they can and discard whatever is remaining, putting the burden of clearing the garbage on the BBMP.
Ms Padmavathi had mooted the idea of collecting a deposit from festival traders and farmers, and to return it only after the unsold goods are discarded by these traders. But like many other proposals, this too was forgotten over time, and the problem continues to haunt the city, which is already bogged down by irresolvable garbage menace.
These garbage piles have turned into mosquito breeding spots and soon there will be an outbreak of diseases, warned Mr Thambi Durai, a fruit merchant at Gandhi Bazaar.
“Already, the city has recorded a number of H1N1 cases. If the BBMP does not wake up now, there could be a health disaster,” echoed Ganesh, a resident ofWilson Garden.
City Mayor Gangambike, who carried out a surprise inspection around Gandhi Bazaar and K.R. Market areas, was shocked to see heaps of unsold and unattended festival garbage.
She directed the officials to clear the garbage at all markets and 198 wards by Monday night. “Disciplinary action will be taken against ward level engineers who fail to clear garbage piles on streets and footpaths,” she warned.
She also directed officials to monitor complaints of H1N1 received at the BBMP control room and to visit the complainants.
