BBMP to install trash barriers to manage solid waste

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) will install trash barriers at Challaghatta and Vrishabhavathi valleys to filter the solid waste.

Taking a cue from a similar plan at Cooum River in Chennai, the corporation officials have decided to undertake the project on a pilot basis. Four floating trash barriers will be installed, two each in Challaghatta and Vrishabhavathi valleys.

“This barrier will help in arresting the floating solid waste and will also prevent the waste choking the bridge structures in stormwater drains (SWDs),” said BBMP Commissioner N Manjunath Prasad.

The collected waste will be sent to the ward level disposal unit daily he added.

“The choking of SWDs a big headache for us as there is no one to check the dumping of garbage in SWDs. This is
one of the measures to curb

the garbage menace in the SWDs,” said a senior BBMP official.

“The cost of installing a floating trash barrier is Rs 13,500 per meter. Each location might need about 20-30m of the barrier, but it varies in size,” said the official.

“The accumulation of silt in SWDs always leads to overflowing of rainwater and results in waterlogging at some places during monsoon. This can be a deterrent to prevent all that,” said Prasad.

The BBMP will also keep a track record of the stormwater drains, similar to that of road maintenance daily.