KSPCB convention of local bodies on Sept 28
The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board has organised a convention of all municipal bodies in the State in the City on September 28.
The local bodies will be given inputs on tackling various kinds of pollution that are posing a challenge to the environment, at the event to be held at Indian Institute of Science.
The Board has carried out various awareness programmes for factories, mills, distilleries and construction industries. It has, so far, conducted 216 workshops and more than 300 training camps in various districts of the State. The awareness programme also covered schoolchildren with the involvement of non-government organisations.
Speaking at a function here, KSPCB chairperson A S Sadashivaiah said Karnataka was way ahead of other states in terms of bio-medical waste management. Fourteen private hospitals have set up incineration units on account of the initiatives of the Board, he said.
Blaming the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) for polluting lakes in the capital city, Sadashivaiah said the BWSSB was not utilising its 12 sewage treatment plants.
The STPs have a capacity to treat 127 million litres of water everyday. But only 40 per cent of the plants are being utilised, said Sadashivaiah. After being snubbed by the KSPCB, the BWSSB has agreed to ensure that 127 million litres of water is treated in its 12 STPs. The Board has suggested that the BWSSB should go for localised treatment plants, which will prevent the stormwater drains and lakes from getting polluted.
“Civic bodies like the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike and the BWSSB have the infrastructure to curb pollution. The BWSSB should ensure that sewage water is not let into the lakes. The same job can be done by health officers and environment engineers of the BBMP. With limited infrastructure and resources we cannot reach all the places,” said Sadashivaiah.
