Govt promises to reduce Terra Firma's trash burden

Water purifying units planned at Doddaballapur landfill

The State government on Wednesday assured the residents of the villages around the Terra Firma waste processing unit in Doddaballapur taluk that the garbage being sent to the unit from the City would be reduced from the current 1,110 tonnes to 500 tonnes in the next six months.

As the villagers blocked trucks carrying garbage to the landfill since Tuesday and staged a demonstration for the second day on Wednesday, a team led by Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy held discussions with the leaders of the local communities. The team, which included Agriculture Minister Krishna Byre Gowda and senior BBMP officials, admitted that instead of the permitted 500 tonnes, around 1,110 tonnes of garbage was being sent to the landfill currently. They gave an undertaking to the leaders that in the next six months, steps would be taken to ensure that not more than 500 tonnes of garbage are sent to the landfill.

After the meeting at Hulikunte Gram Panchayat office, Ramalinga Reddy said mud-capping would be done on the huge quantity of garbage that was lying at the landfill. As the villagers have been complaining that water sources have been contaminated, the government will set up 27 water purifying units in the area. The government would hold regular health camps and take steps to check the increasing mosquito menace in the villages adjoining the landfill, he said.

After the dumping of garbage at the Mandur landfill was stopped, the quantity of waste being sent to Terra Firma has increased. Thus, proper processing of garbage is not taking place, leading to severe mosquito menace and other problems, BBMP sources said.

Earlier in the day, the BBMP administrator T M Vijay Bhaskar met the protesters and told them that a team inspected the Terra Firma landfill and realised that the dumping had not taken place as per the procedure and this had created problems. He told the protesters that the BBMP had taken up the construction of six dumping yards, which would be completed in three months. This would reduce the burden on Terra Firma and MSGP waste processing units in Doddaballapur taluk.

A section of the villagers refused to withdraw the protest, stating that the ministers had spoken only to a handful of people, without taking others into confidence. The police forcibly dispersed the protesters.

Biotech firm waste
A section of the protesters claimed that 12 truckloads of poisonous waste from a leading biotechnology company in the City were being dumped at the Terra Firma landfill every day. Officials said that they would send the garbage samples to the laboratory for testing.