Medical waste choking Lakshmipura lake

Garbage disposal poses health risks to residents of Tippenahalli

Residents of Tippenahalli near Lakshmipura lake wake up to stench and smoke every morning. 

The area, located a few kilometres from the Peenya Industrial Area, has been turned into a dump yard by industries, hospitals, research organisations, hotels and marriage halls. The NICE Ring Road between Magadi Road Junction and Jindal, cuts across the place. The lake is one side of the road and Tippenahalli lies on the other side.  The residents complain that they are forced to inhale constant smoke emanating from incinerated plastic and other hazardous waste. Gloves, masks, syringes, leftover food from hotels and paper plates are among the waste dumped into the lake. 

Medical waste is dumped violating the Biomedical Waste Rules, which specify that such waste have to be disposed of through autoclaving or incineration after authorisation and as per stipulated norms. 

The industries have filled the lake surroundings with garbage. “My family has lived here for many generations. In the last few years, the lake has gone completely dry and the premises has been filled with all kinds of waste,” said Ramakrishnaiah T N, a lecturer in biotechnology at M S Ramaiah degree college. 

Water in any of the borewells in the area is not fit for drinking due to excess content of acid, he added.

The residents do not seem to get a respite from the agony. Till two years ago, the industrial waste was being dumped in a BBMP plot near the locality. 

Unable to bear the stench and smoke, the residents staged a protest, following which the officials issued orders against the dumping of garbage. After the government order, industries started dumping the garbage in the Lakshmipura lake. 

Nexus alleged

Garbage has become a source of revenue for some of the locals, who are hand in glove with the private firms. Those who own tractors for agriculture purposes transport garbage, charging the firms anywhere between Rs 800 and Rs 1,000 per load. 

Nearly four tractor-loads of garbage are dumped on the lake bed every day, said Hanumantha Raju, a resident who has led the residents in their fight against the pollution in the area. 

The repeated complaints given by the residents have finally elicited a response by officials, albeit delayed by a year. Raju wrote a complaint to the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) last July. 

An inspection was carried out in July this year. “We have been asked to wait for a fortnight. The officials have promised that action will be taken,” he says, in the hope that at least this inpection may lead to a solution to the long-pending problem.

M C Ramesh, environment officer of the KSPCB, told Deccan Herald that a report had been submitted to their head office in Bangalore. 

The companies identified by the Board are Scotts Garments Ltd, Paragon Pvt Ltd, Advinus Therapeutic Pvt Ltd and Millipore India Pvt Ltd. 

Apart from this, two contractors who were facilitating the transport by tractors have also been identified. They are Kumar and Mayanna, residents of the area. The Hazardous Waste Rules state that the State Pollution Control Board may cancel the authorisation issued to companies that violate the environmental norms. 

A personal hearing of their case will be conducted. Criminal action will be initiated against them if they continue dumping the garbage, Ramesh added.