Protest against waste-processing plant at Lingadheeranahalli

Members of the Banashankari 6th Stage Residents Welfare Association held a protest on Tuesday outside the Lingadheeranahalli garbage-processing plant set up by the BBMP.

Hundreds of residents took part in the protest. They demanded that the Palike shut down the plant as it is affecting their health and posing threat to the flora and fauna of BM Kaval reserve forest and Turahalli minor forest.

Manjunatha M K, a resident, said, “The plant is functioning for the past five months. The Palike constructed the plant without consulting us and BDA allotted land for it. Besides the mosquito menace and the stench, the groundwater and the Somapura lake are getting polluted due to the flow of leachate into the lake and the roadside drains.”

The protestors said that the foul smell from the plant spreads up to 3 km. Spraying of insecticides to curb the mosquito menace has not been taken up till date. Every day about 25 trucks, each truck carrying eight tonnes of garbage from south zone, enter the plant.

Devaraj, a resident of Metkalpalya near the plant, said that he and his children were unable to eat peacefully due to the stench and mosquitoes. He said that if the problem continued, he would shift to another locality. T S Mahesh, president of the Association, said that they had earlier filed a case with the National Green Tribunal, Chennai, against the Palike for not informing them about the project.

High Court stay

“The case was moved to the Karnataka High Court and we got a stay. Now, the stay order has been vacated. We had submitted a petition against the BBMP last year and held a protest in June. But till date, there is no response. We will continue to fight as the plant is affecting 25,000 houses and eight villages,” he said.

Sarfaraz Khan, BBMP Joint Commissioner for Health and Solid Waste Management, visited the spot and assured the residents that he would discuss the problem with Bengaluru Development Minister K J George and Palike commissioner Manjunatha Prasad.

He told Deccan Herald, “The plant operators are not doing a good job of maintaining the plant. I will discuss the problem with higher authorities and take appropriate steps.”