Villagers shout down Dy Mayor

Angry villagers of Belamangala and surrounding villages shouted down Deputy Mayor L Srinivas when he asked them to allow the BBMP to dump garbage at Terra Firma landfill off Doddaballapura, 60 km away from the City.

Srinivas made a desperate attempt to open the Terra Firma landfill as more than 8,000 tonnes of garbage lies uncleared across the City. The three landfills on the outskirts of the City- Mavallipura, Mandur and Terra Firma- where the Palike was dumping garbage were closed owing to protests by the villagers.

The anger against Terra Firma reached its peak when nearly 5,000 people assembled on the village road, that leads to the landfill and raised slogans. Sensing the situation, police barricaded the road to avoid any untoward incident.

In the afternoon, Srinivas arrived at the venue along with local MLA Narasimha Swamy and appealed to the protestors to give a chance to BBMP.

Srinivas said: “The contractor was supposed to follow the guidelines as laid down by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) and the BBMP but that was not done. But we will ensure that the norms are followed this time, if you allow us to dump garbage at the landfill. We assure you the garbage will not harm you.”

No sooner did Srinivas complete his statement, people shouted a big ‘no’ to his proposal. His assurance that “only the segregated garbage will be dumped at the landfill” stifled in the noise.

He had planned to go to the landfill with the MLA to discuss solution to the problem but the protestors blocked his way. Srinivas was forced to return.

Earlier, the angry villagers questioned as to why the BBMP was polluting their village when the City had enough space to dispose of garbage.

“Why do you look for villages when you have enough space at the Palace Grounds, Lalbagh and Cubbon Park? Let the BBMP dump garbage there instead of spoiling the serenity and beauty of the 20 villages, which are affected due to the Terra Firma landfill,” said D C Narayanaswamy, a local leader.