Blackspots return as rains disrupt garbage collection

Bengaluru: Garbage has been piling up in many parts in Bengaluru for the last three to four days indicating disruption in waste collection from homes and commercial establishments.

Some garbage transfer points have also turned into temporary dump yards due to delays in shifting waste either to processing plants or landfills, which are situated in far-flung areas.

Officials attribute the disruption in waste transportation to the recent heavy rains but said normalcy will return in a day.

In addition to mounds of garbage lying on the roads, some residents complained on social media about auto tippers not collecting garbage for three straight days. Large volumes of waste were left uncollected in markets and commercial areas like Chickpet, KR Market and Commercial Street.

Some of the areas where garbage blackspots were spotted include OMBR Layout, Halasuru, VV Puram, Bharatinagar, Kasturinagar, Magadi Road (near police quarters), Kodigehalli in KR Puram, Bannerghatta Road (Koli Farm Gate), Mahadevapura and Hoysala Nagar.

In some places, door-to-door collection was unaffected, but auto tippers dumped garbage at transfer points as the compactors did not arrive on time.

BBMP's chief commissioner Tushar Girinath said disposal of high volume garbage, just after the festival season, had been affected due to rain.

"The road leading to the landfill was slippery. The situation is getting normal. We have cleared a major portion of the garbage backlogs. By tomorrow, we will clear all the blackspots," he said. 

It is learnt that the mud road leading to the Mitaganahalli landfill in the Mahadevapura Assembly constituency, was not motorable due to the heavy rains. As the compactors took longer to transport waste, it impacted the chain of events, including collection of waste from houses.

Of the 5,000 tonnes of waste the city generates daily, Bengaluru transports close to 3,000 tonnes to landfills, while the rest is sent to processing plants.