Epidemic fear stalks City as wet garbage leaves a stink

Fears of an epidemic stalked the City as mounds of uncleared garbage was awash in the unrelenting rain of the past few days, which doctors warn could be an open invitation to plague, cholera, typhoid, viral arthritis and vector-borne diseases.

Hundreds of tonnes of waste was left uncleared from across the City due to protests at the newly identified garbage processing units and landfills, against dumping it there. The Palike collects waste on a daily basis from every household but it does not have any place to deposit it. As a result, the waste is piling up on every street. The intermittent rain for the last ten days made things worse, causing leachates to percolate into the soil.

Dr Rajan Balasubramaniam, a resident of Malleswaram, said that the fear of dengue spread was nowhere comparable to the bigger threat of a plague outbreak. The rotting garbage attracts rats and an increase in their population is a sure shot route to plague.

“The situation in Bengaluru is identical to Surat in Gujarat where 15 years ago plague outbreak killed many people. We need to understand that rodents feed on garbage.

Also, we do not know what is the rat population in the City,” said Dr Balasubramaniam.

He added that decaying organic matter heightens the risk of cholera and typhoid too.
Dr Meenakshi Bharath, gynaecologist, echoed the same view. She said besides plague and cholera, the situation is conducive for viral arthritis.

“The situation is ideal for plague as had happened in Surat. It is surprising that since 2010, the problem is persisting in Bengaluru and no concrete measures have been taken. The irony is that the government is looking for solutions available in foreign countries when local solutions are available,” said Dr Bharath. Dr H N Sudarshan said the City is at the risk of vector borne diseases like dengue, chikungunya and malaria getting out of hand.

Mayor B N Manjunath Reddy, in response, said the Palike is making every effort to clear the waste and is spraying disinfectants on garbage heaps to check any epidemic outbreak. He said the situation is returning to normal after resuming waste processing at Terra Firma and MSGP processing units in Doddaballapura. The recent festivals generated at least 20 per cent more waste.