A major relief is in store for residents of Mandur village as the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is planning to float a tender soon for work to clear the accumulated garbage at the landfill in the village located in Mahadevapura Assembly constituency.
BBMP commissioner M Lakshminarayana on Monday told Deccan Herald that bioremediation, a technique to remove or neutralise pollutants at a contaminated landfill site would be adopted to clear the waste.
“We are estimating that the total cost would be between Rs 60 crore and Rs 90 crore. While we are yet to decide on the funding for the work, we will float the tender in one or two months,” he said.
The contaminated material will be treated at the site. The Refuse Derived Fuel produced during the process, such as combustible components plastics and biodegradable waste, will be disposed of. There will no biomethanisation plants coming up at the existing landfill, he added.
According to Mandur residents, there are over 40 lakh metric tonnes of garbage at the landfill that has accumulated over the years due to the dumping by the Palike. Out of the total 150 acres of the landfill, 140 acres are filled with garbage, they added.
The villagers, however do not have any hope in the Palike’s claims of clearing the landfill. They rued that it’s been a year since Chief Minister Siddaramaiah promised to clear the garbage mounds at the landfill, but no progress has been made so far.
Gopal Rao, a resident of Mandur, said, “Till date, I have not seen any Palike official or State government representative visiting the spot. The leachate from the dumped waste continues to contaminate water sources. Other problems such as dog menace and groundwater contamination are also bothering the residents.”
Rakesh, another resident, said, “We were told that the landfill will be turned into a park after clearing the garbage. I doubt whether the government or the Palike will implement it within two years as they are claiming”.
The villagers complained that no review meetings between them, district incharge Minister Ramalinga Reddy and Palike officials have taken place, though there is a mention about it in the 13-point undertaking given to the residents by the government.
It is mentioned that every month a review meeting would be held to discuss about the progress of garbage disposal at the landfill.
