The BBMP is leaving no stone unturned to get a good rank in Swachh Survekshan, the national cleanliness survey, but it seems to be ignoring the outskirts of the city.
In order to improve Bengaluru’s cleanliness rank, the BBMP’s solid waste management department has set itself the ambitious target of beautifying 100 black spots within 45 days. But areas located on the fringes of the BBMP limits are being ignored despite repeated reminders from residents’ welfare associations.
A case in point is the 80 feet road than runs between the Turahalli minor forest road and the NICE Road underpass in the Hemmigepura ward.
“It’s an everyday affair to see garbage being dumped on both sides of the road and stray dogs strewing it all around. All kinds of waste, be it domestic, plastic, animal carcass or sanitary waste, is being dumped along the main road. Sometimes the dump becomes so huge that passesby set it afire,” said Kishore Kumar, of Banashankari 6th Stage.
S R Panduranga, president, Ideal Homes Residents’ Association, said a lot of work had to be done on the outskirts.
“Since there are fewer residents here compared to the core areas, the progress of BBMP works is quite slow here. Garbage disposal is a never-ending task. I won’t say the BBMP is ignoring these areas, but a lot more efforts and attention have to be put in here,” he said.
A volunteer from The Ugly Indian, an organisation which works with the BBMP to clear garbage black spots, said the 100 black spots were identified on the recommendations of marshals, civic workers, BBMP officials, MLAs and citizen volunteers. As on Monday, the BBMP has identified only 36 black spots. Sixty-four more are yet to be finalised, the volunteer said.
Details provided by the BBMP’s Special Commissioner (SWM), D Randeep, show that areas such as Sarvagna Nagar, Shivajinagar, CV Raman Nagar, Shanthinagar, Hebbal, BTM Layout and Malleswaram are being beautified to achieve a better cleanliness ranking.
But neighbourhoods on the outskirts, such as RR Nagar, Turahalli, Thalaghattapura and Banashankari, are being ignored. Similarly, many areas that fall under RR Nagar, Mahadevapura, Dasarahalli and Bommanahalli zones aren’t getting the necessary attention.
Asked why the BBMP is ignoring the peripheral areas, Randeep maintained that 100 black spots is just a number to promote the #Clean100Challenge, and clarified that the number of black spots that needed clearance would go up in the coming days.
According to him, inner zones are currently in focus due to their accessibility and the complaints received from public representatives. He, however, promised that black spots in RR Nagar and Mahadevapura zones would be cleared in the coming days.
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