Siddaramaiah scurries away from landfill

'Odour-free' day at village living with a perennial ordeal

For just one day, there was a semblance of clean air at Mandur, courtesy the maiden visit of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday.

The residents of Mandur have faced the ordeal of the stench for the past decade and they finally got one stench-free day.

Preparing for the chief minister’s visit, the village and the surrounding areas received a surprisingly neat makeover. Bleaching powder was sprinkled on all streets, garbage mounds were soil-capped and odour control solution was sprayed around the village and the landfill.

Gopal Rao, a resident, said: “The Palike has undertaken measures temporarily. While the odour control solution is sprayed in the landfill area by the Palike at times, they never undertake spraying activity in the village regularly. The soil capping too has been done only for the last two weeks.”

Call it ‘Grama Vastavya’ (village contact programme) of sorts, Siddaramaiah got a first hand experience of the problems faced by the Mandur residents.

While the villagers called the day stench-free, Siddaramaiah could not stand the foul odour for even half-an-hour. He briefly walked along the landfill area covering his nose and rushed to the public meeting venue 2 km away at a playground.

Freedom fighter H S Doreswamy, who attended the public meeting, said the Palike spends Rs 60 lakh every month on odour control measures, but it is not effectively implemented. “There is a school opposite the landfill site.

On an average, eight to 10 students skip classes daily as they suffer from various diseases. Even the borewells are not fit to use,” he added.

However, Transport and City-in-charge minister Ramalinga Reddy maintained that spraying of effective micro-organisms solution in Mandur landfill and other odour control methods are undertaken regularly.

Meanwhile, Palike Commissioner M Lakshminarayana said that they are trying their best to solve the garbage crisis.

“The High Court has told us to set up a waste processing unit each at all the 28 Assembly constituencies of Bangalore. BBMP Special Commissioner (solid waste management) Darpan Jain has shortlisted seven to eight places to set up the units," he added.