Mayor directs officials to clean up burial grounds

Mayor Gangambike Mallikarjun directed BBMP officials to maintain burial grounds in the city and convert the waste generated there into manure.

She held the meeting of the officials at Malleswaram IPP Training Centre on Monday, in which elected representatives, chief engineers, health and horticulture department officials took part.

In the BBMP range, there are a total of 251 burial grounds, including crematoriums. Of these, 68 are in the South, East and West zones, and all of them have to be cleaned up immediately, she said.

She directed the officials to prepare an estimate as to how much the cleaning work would cost. “Grants allocated will be released, and the machinery and personnel will be deployed quickly,” she said.

The mayor questioned the authorities about the decision made to install mesh compost units in burial grounds. Reacting to this, one of the officers said the same work was going on at the Harishchandra Ghat, Wilson Garden, Shantinagar, Ulsoor and Nandidurga burial grounds.

Gangambike advised the chief engineer of the solid waste division to take appropriate measures to install the leaf composters in all the 198 wards by August 1.

She also questioned about the measures taken to construct public toilets in all the eight zones wherever needed. One of the officers replied that the location has already been identified in many wards and the work would be started soon.