Mafia to blame for Bengaluru's garbage woes, says HDK

“My head hangs in shame when I look at the garbage on the streets.”

This was Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy getting candid about the state of Bengaluru’s solid waste management.

Kumaraswamy blamed the “garbage mafia” for the city’s trash problem. “I can see piles of garbage. There are many remedies to solve the garbage problem, but this garbage mafia won’t allow it. I must find a way to scuttle it,” Kumaraswamy told reporters.

He likened Bengaluru’s garbage mafia to the sand mafia that triggered violence on the banks of the river Bhima.

The chief minister allayed fears that his promise of waiving farmers’ loans would impact Bengaluru’s development. “I want to assure the people of Bengaluru that they will not be burdened.”

He said he had an “unfinished agenda” for Bengaluru. “There are things I wanted to do when I was CM for 20 months (February 2006 to October 2007). They have not been implemented even after 12 years,” he said.

HDK’s U-turn

Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, who levelled serious charges of corruption against the previous Congress regime in the run-up to the Assembly elections, hinted that he was not keen on pursuing them now.

His party, the JD(S), is now a partner in a coalition with the Congress.

Kumaraswamy had accused the Siddaramaiah administration of corruption and had released documents to substantiate his claims, including a mining scam at the state-run Mysore Minerals Ltd.

Kumaraswamy had also demanded a CBI probe into Siddaramaiah’s controversial Hublot watch case. While Siddaramaiah claimed the expensive watch was a gift, Kumaraswamy alleged that the watch was stolen.

Asked if he would pursue corruption charges, Kumaraswamy said, “Let’s see...only if there’s a need,” and laughed it off.