Stench-free Mandur welcomes CM Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: It was better late than never for chief minister Siddaramaiah who finally managed to visit Mandur landfill on Saturday. What welcomed the CM, however, was not a stinking, garbage-laden landfill but an odour-controlled and chemical- sprayed, revamped yard. Justifying his delayed visit by saying that the Assembly sessions held back his dates; the CM visited Mandur a month later than anticipated. And by the time he made it, the landfill presented a picture far removed from reality.

The BBMP, through rigorous soil capping, had covered the garbage at the dump yard and had installed a chemical sprayer to reduce the stench.   Maintaining that these measures to revamp the landfill before his visit will continue till December 1, Mr Siddaramaiah addressed the huge gathering of villagers.

“I had promised to visit the landfill and I have kept my word. Due to the Assembly sessions I could not visit Mandur earlier. Now, I can see the real living conditions of the people. The children in the village are suffering, health of many has deteriorated, drinking water is contaminated and many people are falling ill. Until representatives from Mandur met me, I did not know the gravity of the situation. Nearly 1,500 tonnes of garbage are being dumped at the landfill every day and 40 lakh tonnes of garbage need to be disposed of scientifically. The existing problem is a reality and I will not deny it,” he said.

Taking responsibility for the fact that like the previous government, his government too had not given the Mandur crisis due attention, Mr Siddaramaiah said that the time had come to take up the matter seriously. He reassured the people that trucks won’t carry garbage to the landfill from December 1, and added, “We have already identified eight places around the city to install garbage processing plants. A special commissioner has been appointed to monitor solid waste management and we have submitted our action plan to the High Court. It is also convinced with the measures we are adopting to resolve the crisis,” he said.

The CM, admitting that if processing plants were installed in every Assembly constituency much earlier, the crisis would not have arisen, said dumping garbage at the landfill was not a solution to managing waste. “There are many lapses in effectively maintaining the landfill. Soil capping is not being done properly and chemicals are not sprayed regularly. These concerns will be addressed,” he said.

Mr Siddaramaiah added that Joint Commissioners will be appointed to work in two shifts -- day and night -- and the number of water tankers supplying water to Mandur will be increased in a bid to improve their living conditions.

Freedom fighter H.S Doreswamy, who was present on the occasion, said, “The CM should have come a month earlier so that he could have seen the actual picture of Mandur. The officials are only showing a fabricated image. Among our demands, we want the government to shift the government school to another premise as it is in front of the landfill and students are falling due to the stench.”