Nandi Hills awash with litter

Nandi Hills awash with litter

Staff Reporter

A group of youngsters do their bit to clean up the popular weekend getaway



Cleanup: Members of Bangalore Mountaineering Club clearing litter as part their ‘Save Nandi Campaign’ at Nandi Hills, near Bangalore, on Saturday.

BANGALORE: The contrast is striking as one approaches the telephone tower viewpoint on Nandi Hills: On the right side of the road leading to the spot, a lush garden beckons; on the left, the litter spread on the hill slope stops you in your tracks. It includes empty bottles of liquor, the consumption of which is prohibited by the Horticulture Department.

With few litter bins around, visitors to this picnic spot litter the hill slopes. “We do not have a system of removing litter. We just set it on fire,” said an employee of the department, who is one among 20 tasked with keeping the area clean.
Bottles, paper plates

Plastic bags, water bottles, paper plates and cups are part of the litter. “We are helpless, as there are not many involved in cleaning the place,” said another department employee, who has been working at Nandi Hills for 20 years. Many people visit the place, which is about 60 km from Bangalore, during the weekend. “On these days we generally get truckloads of waste,” he said.
Vacancies

According to another employee, shortage of personnel had made it tough to screen visitors and prevent them from littering the place. “We have to cover an area of 90 acres. The department is yet to fill some of the vacant posts,” he said.

Santosh Kumar, who is a regular visitor, said there were not many litter bins in the area. “There are a few near the guesthouse and near the office of Special Officer of the Horticultural Department,” he said.

The department collects maintenance charges from visitors. The department collects Rs. 60 for each car, apart from Rs. 3 from each visitor. “Where does this money go,” asks Ravi Begur, another visitor.

A group of software engineers and BPO staffers from Bangalore took up the task of clearing some of the litter from the hill slopes on Saturday.

“This is part of our initiative to help the department in keeping the hills clean,” said Neeraj Malve, founder of Bangalore Mountaineering Club. These volunteers visit Nandi Hills for paragliding.

“This is not a one-day event. We will continue to visit the hills to remove litter,” Mr. Marve said. They have placed five litter bins and put up some “Do not litter” boards.