JOIN USThis 'scientific' waste disposal really takes the cake
The “scientific” system of garbage disposal adopted by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) in Subramanyapura in southern Bengaluru really takes the cake.
On Friday afternoon, seven municipal workers (pourakarmikas) frantically cleaned up the garbage mess by setting fire to a heap of waste on the Subramanyapura tank bund road in Uttarahalli.
The BBMP has created a waste-segregation point on the embankment of the lake, which is already on the verge of extinction, thanks to the huge inflow of sewage and blatant land-grab.
The segregation point actually means dumping waste for 15 days and then setting it on fire — the easiest way of getting rid of dry waste such as polythene bags, papers, clothes, thermocol, etc. Sometimes, animal carcasses are also dumped there.
Soon enough, strong winds scattered polythene bags all over the tank bund, making their collection a difficult task.
Without wearing gloves or having any protection against infection, the pourakarmikas sorted the waste as much as they could, heaped it at different points and then set it on fire. Strong winds then made the waste fly all around the place and even scald some passersby and motorists.
But the nonchalant pourakarmikas weren’t much bothered, tasked as they were with disposing of the waste that had accumulated for long.
No segregation at source
In a recent order, the High Court had directed the BBMP to discourage segregation of waste at the collection point and instead promote segregation at source, which means at the household level.
The instruction has been thrown to the wind, at least in Uttarahalli.
The old practice of collecting mixed waste and then segregating it at a dumping point like the one at Subramanyapura tank bund is very much prevalent.