Bengaluru Buzz: Deadline for 100% waste segregation | Sankey Tank overflows | Trial run of e-bus…and more

Catch up on news from the city over the past week, in our roundup.

2021 deadline for 100% waste segregation, collection

The state government approved a new SWM (Solid Waste Management) policy and strategy, which sets 2021 as the deadline for segregation of waste at source and for 100% door-to-door collection, as well as laying out guidelines to protect the health and dignity of pourakarmikas.

The Karnataka State Urban SWM Policy-2020 lays out a road map for Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), including BBMP, to implement time-bound measures. The burning of waste should be stopped by December 2021 and ULBs should ensure that less than 30% of their waste reaches landfills.

ULBs should also ensure that, by December 2021, all biodegradable waste is processed with appropriate technology, and the ban on plastic enforced strictly. The policy also sets 2023 as the target year for coming up with bio-mining or other appropriate methods to manage dumpyards.

The GAIL (Gas Authority of India Limited) has handed over 18 CNG (compressed natural gas) vehicles to the BBMP for dry waste collection. Dry waste collection is managed by self-help groups and individuals, and the vehicles are estimated to help 7,500 people in the profession.

Source: Deccan Herald

First COVID autopsy conducted

A COVID-19 victim autopsy was conducted for the first time in Bengaluru by Dr Dinesh Rao, head of the Department of Forensic Medicine at Oxford Medical College. The autopsy, done 16-18 hours after the death of a 61-year-old, showed that the virus was absent from the skin surface but was present in the nose, mouth and throat. It showed that, “while the lungs are normally spongy in appearance, in this COVID patient, it had the appearance of a hard leather ball”.

Meanwhile, cases of recovered COVID patients have been outnumbering new positive cases since a few days. The government also said that the number of daily RT-PCR tests had been increased.

Source: Deccan Herald | Indian Express

Heavy rains cause Sankey Tank to fill up after 12-year gap

Heavy rains lashed parts of the city on Friday, leaving many areas waterlogged, and traffic disrupted. The worst-affected places were Koramangala, BTM Layout, Jayanagara, Basavanagudi, RR Nagar, Hosakerehalli, Basavangudi, Nagarabavi, Kengeri and Malleswaram.

Sankey Tank overflowed for the first time in 12 years, thanks to the steady rain over the past two weeks. Water was seen gushing out of the waste weir on Wednesday morning.

Over the last two-three years, BBMP had taken up several projects in Sankey tank including civil works such as building separate jogging and walking tracks as well as strengthening of the bund. While there are plans for more projects here, there are also concerns that these might decrease the lake’s water-holding capacity.

Source: Indian Express | Deccan Herald | Bangalore Mirror

Pollutant concentrations vary across city: Study

A 11-month-long mobile monitoring of particulate air pollutants over a fixed 150-km road stretch in Bengaluru, comprising major, arterial and residential roads, found large spatial variability in pollutant concentrations.

Urban and peri-urban residential neighbourhoods recorded the lowest concentration of PM2.5, BC (black carbon) and UPF (ultrafine particles), whereas major roads recorded the highest. Within neighbourhoods, pollutant concentrations varied with the road type. The study also found that the city centre is not a pollution hotspot.

The study was conducted by CSTEP (Centre for Study of Science, Technology and Policy) with ILK Labs, University of Washington and University of Texas. It is said to be one of the first large-scale mobile-monitoring studies in India, with over a million data points.

Source: The Hindu

BMTC starts trial run of e-bus

The BMTC (Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation) started trial runs for electric buses for the second time, after over six years. A Hyderabad-based company has provided a 12-meter-long AC e-bus for the trial run.

Officials have said that the trial runs will be carried out using sand bags and that passengers will not be allowed for 15 days. The Corporation has maintained that during the trial run, performance of the bus will be assessed in terms of battery charging, carrying capacity, performance of the bus in high-traffic roads and others. The bus will be operated on ten roads. It can run 200 to 250 km in a single recharge, and the seating capacity is 34+1.

The state government has directed BMTC to prepare an action plan for leasing 300 e-buses under FAME-II scheme of the central government.

Source: The Hindu

HC suggests law imposing death penalty for gang rape

The High Court of Karnataka suggested a law at the national level that prescribes death penalty for the gang rape of women. The court was upholding the life imprisonment imposed by a trial court on seven convicted persons who had gang-raped a 21-year-old law student near Jnana Bharathi campus on October 13, 2012.

Source: The Hindu

LED streetlight project finally takes off

The ambitious plan of replacing the city’s nearly five lakh streetlights with energy-efficient LED lights is finally beginning to take off. BBMP had announced the project in 2018 with the expectation of completing it by 2021. The fitting of new lights is expected to begin this December. One lakh streetlights will be replaced in the first phase.

Source: The Hindu

[Compiled by Revathi Siva Kumar]

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