Mittiganahalli landfill to be delayed

The Urban Development Department (UDD) turned down a bidder chosen by the BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) for setting up a scientific landfill at Mittiganahalli near Hennur, and asked BBMP to initiate a fresh tender process.

BBMP had hoped to dump waste in the Mittiganahalli landfill since the landfills at Bagalur and Bellahalli quarries had already been overflowing. But UDD rejected the bidder on grounds that he was not technically qualified, having had prior experience only as a sub-contractor and not as primary contractor.

Garbage management in the city is likely to be hit since the fresh tender process would take another 2-3 months. BBMP cannot float fresh tenders for at least 45 days from the date of rejection of the file. It has to give another 15 days for tender submissions as well.

Source: Deccan Herald

BBMP aims for higher ODF rank

BBMP is working hard to get a higher ranking in the Swachh Survekshan 2020. Having got the ODF (Open Defecation Free) tag recently, it’s striving to achieve the ODF++ tag for which additional criteria have to be fulfilled. Last year, BBMP’s ranking in the Survekshan was 194 – an improvement over its ranking of 212 in 2018, and 201 in 2017.

‘Surprise inspections’ for the Survekshan will happen in January-February. To improve visual cleanliness, BBMP is clearing black spots, treating leachate, introducing biometric attendance for pourakarmikas, and so on. The Palike has also floated a tender for setting up a state-of-the-art smart control room for solid waste management. BBMP is on a drive to up its ranking through better feedback from the public too.

BBMP will also collect segregated wet and dry waste from households and transport them in separate containers to processing centres. Though tenders for door-to-door waste collection had been floated and completed in 168 wards, work orders have not yet been issued.

Mayor M Goutham Kumar said that the Indore model would be implemented in five wards on a pilot basis, where auto tippers would have separate containers for wet and dry waste. The contractors who have bagged the new tenders will be asked to incorporate design changes in their vehicles for collecting different streams of waste.

Source: The Hindu

Hoardings likely to be back

In the next two weeks, state government may notify the BBMP Advertisement Rules, 2019, that would allow hoardings in a ‘regulated manner’. State may overrule the BBMP Outdoor Signages and Public Messaging Bylaws, 2018, passed by the BBMP Council, which had put a blanket ban on hoardings.

Mayor M Gautam Kumar had written to the state government, arguing that outdoor advertisement is the domain of BBMP. He said that hoardings would affect the visual beauty of the city, and curb the constitutional rights of BBMP since no state government should interfere in the local body’s decisions.

However, BBMP Commissioner B H Anil Kumar, who had earlier headed the UDD, said that a blanket ban on hoardings was not the right policy in a megacity, and that the Karnataka High Court had also given an order against this. He added that the new Rules would allow hoardings but the BBMP Council could regulate them. He also said that hoardings could be banned in certain zones.

Source: The Hindu | Deccan Herald

IISc: 24 restored lakes are of ‘very poor quality’

The city’s 24 restored water bodies are of ‘very poor water quality’, according to a study by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc). This is due to poor maintenance, unchecked inflow of sewage, and limiting restoration to just ‘beautification’, says the study.

For instance, the 34.8-acre Herohalli Lake in Sunkadakatte that had been restored by the BBMP is now highly polluted, as seven million litres of sewage flows into it everyday. Though its pathway, lighting and  garden were restored, the lake has turned green due to algal growth. A 1.5 MLD STP (sewage treatment plant) was planned here only after sewage entry made water fit only for irrigation and industrial cooling.

Meanwhile, in the Hulimavu lake bed area, BBMP had started a drive to remove encroachments, but retreated after residents there got a stay order on demolition of their houses. This was despite directions from the Lokayukta to remove the encroachments in eight weeks.

BDA (Bangalore Development Authority) has floated a tender for desilting, rejuvenation and development of Bellandur lake at an estimated cost of Rs 250 crore. For Varthur lake, another tender is likely to be floated in three days, at the estimated cost of Rs 150 crore. BDA took the step after it was reprimanded by the National Green Tribunal for not rejuvenating the two lakes.

Source: Deccan Herald | The Hindu

Women molested during New Year’s eve celebrations

On New Year’s eve, several women were molested and one FIR was lodged. At least four molesters were arrested. This was despite heavy police vigil at MG Road, Brigade Road, Residency Road, Church Street, Indiranagar and Koramangala.

Bengaluru Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao had said that some 7,000 security personnel and 270 Hoysala patrolling vehicles would be deployed across the city on New Year. Police had also planned to install CCTVs and drones, regulate traffic, and restrict vehicle parking. Police had also set up separate lanes on the right side of Brigade Road to ensure safety of women and children. The state-run Bengaluru Metropolitan Road Transport Corporation and Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation had extended their services up to 2 am on January 1st.

Soon after New Year celebrations, 10 tonnes of trash were collected and cleared from the Brigade Road-MG Road-Church Street loop. BBMP swung into action to dispose of 500-600 liquor bottles, around 150 pairs of slippers and shoes, cigarette butts and five tonnes of plastic and paper waste from 3 am to 7 am.

Source: The Times of India | Deccan Herald | The Hindu

No govt decision yet on public exam for Class VII

State government has not given any official order on whether to conduct a public examination for Class VII for the 2019-20 academic year. Hence many private schools are gearing up to conduct school-level examinations in March, said D Shashi Kumar, General Secretary of the Associated Management of Primary and Secondary Schools in Karnataka.

State government will send notices to 130 schools, seeking their explanation for skipping a workshop on implementing compulsory Kannada in schools. The workshop had been organised by the Department of Primary and Secondary Education in association with the Kannada Development Authority (KDA). The schools are affiliated to the CBSE, ICSE and IGCSE boards. KDA authorities say that 159 schools in the city have failed to follow the Compulsory Kannada Language Learning Act, which had become effective from the 2017 academic year.

Source: The Hindu | Deccan Herald

[Compiled by Revathi Siva Kumar]