Mandur allows dumping for five more months

Protests end after 13-point deal with BBMP

The State government has successfully brokered an accord between the protesting villagers and the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to stop dumping garbage at the Mandur site near Hoskote, by December 1, 2014.

Accordingly, the villagers called off their protest against using their village as a dumpyard for solid waste.

The deadline is part of a 13-point agreement, to be signed by the Palike and Mandur villagers in the next two days, after much bargaining by both parties. Until the deadline, the BBMP will be free to dump 210 trucks of waste every day between 10 pm and 5 am.

The government also bowed to the demand to stop diverting garbage from Hoskote and Devanahalli to Mandur. 

Having come to the negotiating table, after much efforts by the State government and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in particular, the stakeholders discussed at length ways to resolve the woes of Mandur villagers. 

While the details are yet to be worked out, in principle it has been agreed that as quid pro quo for bearing the brunt of garbage dumping for so long, the BBMP will give up the site for the use of Mandur villagers as a public space.

The villagers have been assured that the garbage accumulated in the landfill will be scientifically disposed of by Bioremediation. 

While the BBMP has proposed setting up a power plant to generate energy from waste, the agency to pursue the project is yet to be finalised. 

The BBMP has also promised to dedicate a team to monitor the disposal of waste.

The government has also conceded the demand of the villagers to enquire into the waste disposal proposal of M/s Gayatri Srinivas, who were given the contract to start a “waste to power” plant in Mandur.

The Palike has agreed to dig trenches around the landfill to prevent seepage of leachate into the neighbouring land where agriculture activity has come to a standstill. The BBMP has also promised to cover the decomposed waste in the landfill with mud.

A team of experts from the Indian Institute of Science will also be tasked to look into the effectiveness of the spraying undertaken to contain the stench. The spray procured from a company named Ecosorb is ineffective, the villagers have claimed.