garbage

BBMP has said that cluster housing societies (apartments or villas) have to manage their own garbage. These housing complexes do not even have the public water supply system. However, the residents of these clusters are not exempt from any tax or cess to be paid to the BBMP, including the so-called development expenses. How fair is this? Who has to supervise whether these clusters really segregate wet and dry waste and dispose them in the right manner? With uncontrolled growth, city authorities are not able to provide the infrastructural support. Pic Sudha Narasimhachar Wet waste management may be supervised by…

At Sobha Althea & Azalea, we are a motley group of women coming from various backgrounds. We were thinking of putting a waste management system in place even before the BBMP legislation came into force. But for some reasons, it didn't take off.The legislation was just the kind of nudge we needed to get going and start thinking about the HOWs and WHYs. How to startNon-negotiablesNegotiablesTraining A string of meetings helped us frame certain guidelines for our own residential community while keeping in mind the larger picture: A waste-free zone. Housekeeping staff are key to the success of any waste…

While they are struggling to figure out the BBMP's muddled up garbage management policy, apartment owners are hit with tanker water price hikes.In the last 3-4 months water tanker prices have risen quite steeply, especially since the city's water crisis became severe. This applies to apartments in both outskirts and old areas. Most do not have functioning borewells, as opposed to individual houses. Bannerghatta Neighbourhood Association (BANA), a collective of 25 apartments along Bannerghatta Road, has faced sharp price hikes in the last few months. BANA Treasurer Shankar Bharadwaj says that the price varies from Rs 450 to Rs 600…

Bengaluru's apartments are yet again at the receiving end of civic agencies' policies. This time over Waste management. While BBMP is pushing the pedal to ensure solid waste is segregated, it says it will not collect garbage from apartments. Some time back, large apartments were asked to set up their own Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) since BWSSB did not have the capacity or coverage to process their sewage. Some were suddenly slapped steep fines last year by KSPCB because of an obscure rule. Now BBMP has ordered that apartments should have their own garbage processing facilities by December 1st. Within…

What do you mean by waste segregation? Waste segregation basically means keeping wet and dry wastes separately, so that dry can be recycled and wet waste can be composted. Why should I do it? So that it reduces waste that reaches landfills and reduces pollution to air and water So that different processes- composting, recycling, incineration can be applied to different kinds of waste How do I practice waste management at home? Keep separate containers for dry and wet waste in the kitchen Keep two bags for dry waste collection- paper and plastic , for the rest of the household…

The uncleared garbage in the city is raising the stink. Residents are unhappy, government departments are pointing fingers at each other, those living near landfills are protesting; but the city still does not have a comprehensive solid waste management policy. Mavallipura landfill. Pic: Sankar C G The policy is being drafted for over a year now. Last September, a BBMP official told Citizen Matters that the policy will go for Council approval shortly. One year on, there is no draft policy in sight and not very surprisingly, the same statement is being repeated. “The policy that we have framed will…

Lack of trash pickup points nearby has made 6th cross, 3rd block Koramangala near BDA complex a garbage dumping space for over 20 years now. Pourakarmikas say the garbage pickup truck comes about once a week to clear it. Devi, a pourakarmika says, "We have been dumping the garbage of the whole locality here. The BBMP truck comes and collects it whenever they want."    Garbage dump at BDA complex, Koramangala. Pic: Anisha Nair      The garbage menace has been bothering residents and shopkeepers alike. A tea stall owner outside the BDA complex, who did not want to be named, says,…

Improper waste management and burgeoning population of stray dogs could easily be considered as two ubiquitous problems plaguing the city of Bangalore. Animal welfare activists have for long claimed that the two might be correlated. They argue that availability of food in the form of garbage spurs the increase in population of stray dogs. Instead of culling the canines, BBMP should concentrate on implementing effective solid waste management system. Three garbage dumps marked in a one kilometre radius in Jayanagar ‘Voice of Stray Dogs' (VoSD), a pressure group, has launched a collaborative project, ‘X marks the spot', where citizens can…

In Bangalore, about 3000 to 3500 tons of garbage is collected every day. On special occasions like Ugadi, Ayudh Pooja, Vijayadashami and Deepavali the amount of garbage (organic waste from flowers, fruits, vegetable, banana leaves, etc) increases by 800 to 1000 tons. This garbage is disposed off in vehicles within 2 to 3 days to recycling units.During this diwali season, the garbage collected in KR Market was around 175 tons which was more than the average of 60 to 70 tons per day. Garbage collection in the markets of Jayanagar, Malleswaram, Yeshwantpur, KR Puram, Fraser Town, JP Nagar, Banashankari, Sheshadripuram…

Ever since I can remember-and that means since I was three or four years old, Lalbagh has been an inseparable part of my childhood. Whether it was to just run barefoot all the way (from Sajjan Rao Circle where I used to live) and play there with my umpteen friends, or go with my family and get my dad to click pictures with his Yashica camera or to go for Ganapathi Visarjana, or for the flower show; Lalbagh was the only awesome place one could think of. Since then it has also been my dad’s place of pilgrimage literally. He…