Bengaluru: Around 20 villagers, who have been surrounding the waste processing unit of the BBMP at the Chikkamankalala Circle in Doddaballapur taluk and preventing lorries from dumping waste from the city there, on Wednesday, called off their protest after agitating for three days. The protest ended only after they were promised by the ministers that the BBMP trucks will not dump more waste at the dumping ground.
The BBMP has been allowed six months time to reduce the waste by 50 per cent and gradually stop completely once the construction of the waste processing units taken up at seven different places start functioning, said District in-charge Minister Ramalinga Reddy after pacifying the residents.
The BBMP has agreed to set up 27 reverse osmosis plants for 22 villagers to get safe drinking water. It has already released Rs 3.74 crore for providing soil topping and spraying to prevent mosquito menace. The work will be carried out through gram panchayats, he added.
However the villagers claimed that the BBMP has been dumping waste indiscriminately and unscientifically, leading to various health hazards and spoiling soil fertility. Leachate has been let into the ground without processing. It has led to the contamination of the ground water. The waste was being dumped by Terra Firma Biotechnologies Ltd. and MSGP Infratech Pvt. Ltd, near Chikkamankalala Circle in Doddaballapur taluk.
During the protest, the villagers had camped on the road for two days and even prepared food on the road side. “Even our drinking water has been polluted, as is the air we breathe. We don’t need assurances. We only need permanent solutions,” the protesters cried.
The BBMP admitted that 1,100 metric tons of waste was sent, as against the capacity of 800 MT. “The waste processing units at Lingadheeranahalli and Singadevanahalli will start commissioning from next month. This will reduces stress on MSGP and Terra Firma”, said BBMP Administrator T.M. Vijay Bhaskar.
