Molehill out of a mountain!

Molehill out of a mountain!

This is what our civic authorities seem to be doing. The New BDA Layout in Avalahalli is home to an ever-growing mountain of construction waste and garbage, driving the residents to insanity. But no one is listening

Neethu Reghukumar
Posted On Sunday, November 16, 2008

Flattening hillocks in the city is not uncommon in order to pave way for new residential areas. But, here is a case of a mountain being formed around the new BDA layout in Avalahalli. And, what does the mountain comprise? Nothing but construction and demolition waste, forcing the residents of the area to live like prisoners in their own houses. Closed doors and windows are the order of the day, thanks to the dumping yard surrounding their homes.

Over 300 households are victim to this dumping yard being operated in the vicinity. Fifty-five year old Jayamma, a resident of the area, is suffering from skin allergies due to the dust from the construction waste that is being dumped everyday since the past six months. Two-and-a-half year old Sneha is suffering from fever for the past 15 days due to the dust. Wheezing, cough, cold, fever and skin allergies have become common ailments in this area. Dust, a terrible stench and disease spreading insects have cast a dark shadow on the lives of these people.

Tractors, lorries and tippers carry waste to this zone many times a day to dump wastage from various areas in South Bangalore. Ravikumar, a resident, said, “We can’t sleep in the nights as lorries continuously unload construction waste”. The residents claim that over 200 vehicles dump their wastage in this area.

There are two operational dumping yards in the area. According to the residents, one of the lands there is allegedly owned by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) and the other by a private land owner Anantha Swamy alias Avalahalli Patel.

The security guards at the gates leading to the dumping yard collect money from the people who wish to dump waste there. Tractors, tippers and lorries are charged Rs 30, 50 and 100 respectively. There are value schemes available to these vehicles plying garbage at Rs 150 for tractors and nearly Rs 3,000 for bigger trucks if they so wish. The people in charge of the yards claim that the land is being levelled for property prospects and construction of the NICE road. This explanation does not however answer the queries and concerns of the people living here. They have complained that they were manhandled when they confronted the people working in the dump.

The Vrishbavathi lake which runs alongside the area is also threatened as a result. The residents have been consistently pursuing the authorities to address the issue, but to no avail. They have complained to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the police, the pollution control board, the health department and the BDA regarding the same. But, no concrete response or action has been taken to relieve the residents of their nightmare.
However, V D Bori, Assistant Executive Engineer, BDA, said, “The land was handed over to the BBMP six months ago. When the BDA handed over the land to BBMP, dumping of construction waste was already taking place.” Nagaraj S B, Health Officer, South, BBMP, said, “There are so many dumping grounds, I am not sure who is dumping waste over there. I will have to get the details from the health officers of that particular area.”

Hospitals too dump waste here

The BBMP has slapped a total fine of Rs 3.5 lakh on Wockhardt and Apollo Hospitals for improper disposal of waste. While Wockhardt hospital has to pay Rs 1.5 lakh, Apollo Hospital has been fined Rs 2 lakh. Dr Suresh, BBMP medical officer (Bommanhalli) said that the hospitals had hired private contractors to dispose waste generated by them and these contractors had been dumping the waste hapazardly at Avalahalli. “According to the rules, the hospitals should hire only those contractors identified by the BBMP to dump waste. We have levied the fine and also issued a warning to the hospitals to ensure that this is not repeated,” he added.

(With inputs from Sharan Poovanna)