Unchecked garbage dumping, polluted water leave residents in distress in northeast Bengaluru

Unabated garbage dumping in an abandoned quarry in north-east Bengaluru has been causing distress to residents of the area, particularly immunocompromised inmates of a care home.

The quarry known as Byrathi bande is situated in survey number 14 of Doddagubbi Village off Hennur-Bagalur Road and Doddagubbi Main Road.

Residents allege that over the past six months, either the BBMP or an unidentified private entity has been dumping truckloads of garbage, including medical waste, into the abandoned quarry, polluting groundwater in the area.

The inmates and caretakers of Accept Society, an NGO serving HIV/AIDS patients, have been affected the most. At the beginning of April, the care centre’s management noticed foul odour and discoloration in water from their borewells.

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Upon testing a sample, it was found that the colour, turbidity, and presence of chemicals in the contaminated water were beyond acceptable limits. The laboratory report deemed the groundwater as unusable.

Raju K Mathew, chairman of the NGO, said the society had to depend on water tankers to meet daily needs. “We spend over Rs one lakh each month and order six tankers of usable water every day. The smell is already a problem; the lack of clean water affects our regular operations,” he said.

The centre has reported 15 deaths over the past six to seven months. “We cannot say this problem has caused the deaths since these patients are already immunocompromised, but we are afraid that if unresolved, it might put many more patients at risk,” he said.

Close to the quarry is a nearly dried up, natural, rainwater-filled waterbody with thick, suspended matter floating on the water’s surface. Residents fear that the situation will worsen with the monsoon.

“The dirty water going through the nala in our property has a terrible stench. We are afraid the effects will show in our well soon,” Lalitha, a resident of the area, said.

No response

By April 27, the NGO submitted a complaint to six civic authorities, including the BBMP chief commissioner, the State Pollution Control Board, the joint commissioner of Mahadevapura Zone, and secretary of the Doddagubbi grama panchayat. As of May 1, they have not received any response.

BBMP officials claimed that private entities could be dumping the garbage. While the care home and parts of land around it are within the BBMP limits, the quarry area comes under the Doddagubbi panchayat, and therefore, the issue should be handled by the panchayat, they said.