Infrastructure

The entire city coming together on the issue of garbage... unimaginable till even a few months ago... But there has been a visible change of climate over the last 6 months; and the last week in particular has been noteworthy. Wake Up Clean Up Bangalore - a 7 day expo at Freedom Park on managing waste - that brought together a variety of stakeholders on a single platform, recently concluded amidst significant media coverage and public promises. On each of the seven days, members of the industry, Corporate leaders, elected representatives, several city schools, hospitals, hotel association and various other…

I often wonder whether we are doing justice to our youngsters -- all open spaces are being ornamentally ‘gardened', ‘fountained', 'ticketed' and enclosed with barbed wires that are inaccessable to children. To give one or two concrete examples, there was a nice open space behind the HOPCOMS in Sadashivanagar that is surrounded by houses. There is also a nursery school in that area. I have been a resident in this neighbourhood the past 30 years and it pains me to see all the open spaces being taken away for either allotment to VIPs or converted into ornamental parks with tickets.…

In the last few weeks, we have started segregating waste in our apartment complex. Valuable lessons have been learnt on the problems created by thoughtless waste disposal, while understanding how resistant residents can be to change, even if it is for ‘greater good.'But what I did not expect is - insights into gender equation in households. Before you accuse me of bringing in feminist agenda into waste management, hear me out, I do have a point.Firstly, when the entire city was stinking up and grappling with how to dispose garbage safely, it was the women in the apartment who mooted…

After several months of uncleared garbage raising a stink in the city, Bangalore seems to be having a brief respite from it. The new Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner H Siddaiah has been working to find a solution to the issue that has been affecting the city. However, the Commissioner is well aware that the respite is only temporary and that the Palike cannot rest easy till more permanent solutions are found to manage the estimated 3,500 tonne waste generated in the city. He was speaking at a symposium titled "Solutions to impending public health crisis through governance in…

The tin sheet shacks in Ejipura EWS (Economically Weaker Section) quarters are lined up so close to each other, that it is not easy to tell one house from the next. Outside the shacks, little girls and boys are seen carrying small pots of water which they have collected from somewhere. In one of the houses stays Aisha (name changed), with her husband, four children, and parents-in-law. Like most families here, this family of eight also does not get water to their house. Aisha, 38, spends a lot of her time standing in queue in front of public taps. Children…

Even as the Mandur landfill region is threatening to erupt into yet another conflict zone, the AP-headquartered Lok Satta political party has organised a walk 'Dumping SAAKU' on Saturday, December 22nd. Lok Satta party cartoon released for the walk. Lok Satta party, active in Bengaluru politics since 2010, has organised the walk from Mandur village (north east of the city) to Bengaluru to raise awareness in Bangaloreans about incessant dumping of garbage at rural-area landfill sites outside the city. The party does not have an elected representative in the state yet.Mandur is located in the northeastern rural fringe of Bengaluru,…

Saroja, a domestic worker staying in Ambedkar slum in Ejipura, spends much of her time waiting near a public tap every day. There is no individual water connection to her house, and the only sources are two public taps nearby. The tap gives water for 2.5 hours everyday, but this could be at any time during the day. Saroja checks up on the tap every now and then to collect this water, even though she knows that it is mixed with sewage. Both she and her 24-year-old daughter Mangala, are responsible for collecting water for the household. This story is…

Bangalore has been facing a serious problem in getting garbage cleared on a daily basis, especially since the past few months, with the result that garbage dumps are seen all over the city. BBMP is trying to solve the problem but not much result is seen on the streets of Bangalore.Any scheme that the BBMP adopts will have to take into consideration the following issues.1. The waste generated has to be segregated at source. There is no alternative to this in spite of the various objections raised by some groups, elected representatives, BBMP officials and the garbage contractors. Some citizens have…

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…