The BSWML workers are seen dumping garbage outside litterbugs' homes.
Credit: BSWL
Bengaluru: Citizen groups and Residents' Welfare Associations (RWAs) have criticised Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited’s (BSWML) ‘Kasa Surisuva Habba’ — literally translated as the garbage-dumping festival — calling it a public relations stunt that ignores the city’s waste management failures.
On Thursday, BSWML workers dumped garbage outside 200 houses whose residents had allegedly been disposing of waste in public spaces.
"This is the wrong way to send a message for an awareness campaign. Retributive justice does not send the right message. Those guilty should have been fined, and their photos, with faces visible, could have been shared on social media. Instead, this initiative has only doubled the work for pourakarmikas,” said Nitin Seshadri, secretary, Koramangala 3rd Block RWA.
Zibi Jamal of Whitefield Rising said the drive was unfair when the city’s waste collection itself remained unreliable.
"No one wants to carry their garbage looking for black spots to dump it at — it is inconvenient and unpleasant. The agency should look at the root cause — missed or mistimed pickups. Maybe multiple collection rounds or community bins in convenient spots could help. Even if segregation remains a challenge, it is better than uncollected garbage piling up across the city,” she said.
Anjali Saini, also from Whitefield Rising, pointed to the shortage of waste-handling infrastructure.
"We do not have enough dry waste collection centres. Nor are there enough auto tippers for the growing population. If a waste collector’s auto gets filled after four lanes, he ends up skipping the other six," she said.
Residents from RT Nagar, Sultanpalya, Adugodi, and Mathikere voiced similar complaints.
“Sometimes waste collectors do not turn up for days, saying salaries are pending. When they do come, they often leave garbage scattered. Some even arrive before 6 am, when most residents are asleep,” said Arjun Mahesh, an RT Nagar resident.