A massive Twitter campaign by local residents has shone a light on the hazard and inconvenience of having to live close to a waste management plant.
The “tweetstorm” that gathered 35,000 tweets in support of demands to remove the plant at Chikkanagamangala near Electronics City had explained the troubles the residents are facing for several years.
They alleged that the nauseating stench that stays for several hours is causing serious health problems to children and senior citizens. “The stench is intense on some days and it lasts for almost 20 hours,” said local resident Deepu Chandran, one of the organisers of the tweetstorm.
The stench could be smelt at Electronics City phase 1, two kilometres away from the plant, Chandran added. Multiple complaints about water and air pollution, mosquitoes and houseflies have fallen on deaf ears.
Residents allege that the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is piling more solid waste than the plant could handle because the other plants are getting closed for various reasons.
“The rejected waste is dumped in the quarry inside the (plant) premises,” Chandran said. “If this’s the case, how can the BBMP claim that the plant is working under capacity?”
The piling garbage is affecting the quality of groundwater and the BBMP has not acted on the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board’s (KSPCB) directions to do water testing in the 50-metre periphery of the plant.
“The pond and stormwater drain outside the plant reek with the filthy water released by the plant,” said another resident. “The KSPCB has directed the BBMP to install a leachate treatment at the site by March 2020, a deadline now extended up to April 2021. Nothing has happened till date.”
Official defends plant
Responding to the complaints, the BBMP’s additional commissioner for SWM D Randeep said the civic body is only rightfully collecting and processing wet waste in the processing plants. “This plant has authorisation and consent to operate from the KSPCB,” Randeep said. “It handles close to 250 tonnes of wet waste per day against a capacity of 300 tonnes.” Randeep said his department officials met with the Chikkanagamangala residents a couple of times. “We’ve even taken them to the plant to give first-hand information. But if their demand is about closing the plant, BBMP can’t support,” he added.
He said BBMP had urged cement factories to use the waste as fuel in their factories. “the only option is to take the waste to the landfill. The process will commence soon,” he said.