The BBMP’s garbage segregation initiative seems to be is in a mess. And there is no better illustration of this than the scene in 18th Main, JP Nagar.

Thanks to the BBMP’s apathy, the area around JP Nagar Club, 18th Main, has virtually got converted into a garbage mound infested with swarms of mosquitoes.

According to residents of JP Nagar Phase 2, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) solid waste management contractors are segregating waste on a road that is close to two schools, the club and a temple. They said the BBMP had turned a deaf ear to their complaints about the problem.

“There is a park for senior citizens in the area. The rubbish dump has turned into a nightmare for them as it stinks. Every day, around 20 garbage vehicles come to the spot and dump waste. Senior citizens and children are suffering from lung diseases,” said Krishna, a resident.

He said that even animals were also suffering, with cows eating the waste. “The black spot has also given rise to stray dog menace in the area,” he said.

Uma Balakrishna, another resident of JP Nagar, said BBMP officials pleaded helplessness with them, with the civic body stating that they had to do the segregation on the road as they had no other place.

“But the waste is spilling on the road and causing trouble to move vehicles. If the palike picks up waste on time, I think we can at least get rid of the stench,” said Uma.

Strangely, local Corporator KN Lakshmi Nataraj cited closure of Mandur landfill as the reason for turning the road into a garbage dump. “We are also helpless. The waste can move from the spot once the Mandur landfill is open,” she said.