JOIN USEven before the waste processing unit at Kannahalli on Magadi Road has become fully functional, miscreants ransacked the plant and set fire to an earthmoving equipment in the early hours of Saturday. A lorry and tractor belonging to the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike were damaged in the incident.
A group of 30-40 people, said to be local residents, fought with the security guard Srinivas and staff of the waste processing plant and vandalised the vehicles.
Some residents said that the plant set up by Karnataka Compost Development Corporation has been causing several problems - stench, air pollution, stray dog menace - among others.
They demanded that the Palike close the unit. According to sources, about 90 people work at the unit and the staff have filed a complaint with the Ramgangara district police.
Locals claimed that after people living around S Bingipura landfill near Anekal stopped allowing garbage trucks recently, about 100-120 tonnes of waste was being sent to Kannahalli unit.
After the garbage dumping resumed at S Bingipura, the Kannahallai plant is receiving 60-80 tonnes now.
When contacted, Mayor B N Manjunatha Reddy told Deccan Herald on Sunday that the Kannahalli plant was working on a trial basis only since a week. "I could not visit the spot today. The incident will not affect the dumping or processing of waste at any cost," he added.