Sweepers' squabble raises a stink

Venkata Krishaiah, a resident of Dollars Colony, N S Palya, Belekhalli, is tired of complaining about the garbage being dumped right in front of his house.

“We cannot open our doors because of the stink and mosquitoes. I am an old man trying hard to get corporators and BBMP officers to look into the matter, but no one has responded to my agony,” he told Deccan Herald, after reading the Stinking City series being published to highlight the woes pertaining to garbage and sanitation in the City.

When the newspaper brought the matter to the notice of Belekhalli Corporator Roopa Ramesh, she visited the spot on Thursday morning and ensured that garbage was cleared.

While appreciating the corporator’s initiative, Krishaiah was apprehensive if this would be done on a daily basis. “Although it is cleared now, we will have to check if the garbage is cleared every day.”

Krishnaiah’s house is located on the border of two wards, BTM Layout (Ward No. 176) and Belekhalli (Ward No. 188), which is one of the main reasons for garbage being dumped in front of his house. Despite repeated complaints to the BBMP, there was no attempt to address the problem.

Roopa admitted that there was a fight between two sweepers who dumped garbage in each other’s area and assured to visit the place again shortly and check on the issue.

She added that there were also slum-dwellers in the area who dump garbage indiscriminately. BTM Layout Corporator G N R Babu too said he has taken personal interest in ensuring that his ward is clean by keeping the sweepers on their toes. “There is big hotel under construction. Once it comes up, these slum dwellers will be rehabilitated. I will look into the matter,” he said.

BBMP officials, however, were not aware of the problem in the two wards. The officer concerned even said the particular area does not come under his jurisdiction.

The area is not just a border between two wards, but also between two constituencies –– Bangalore South and Bommanahalli.