Pourakarmika’s threat: Pay Rs 100 or else

Bengaluru: While the Swachh Bharath campaign is gaining momentum in the city, disposal of household garbage continues to be a problem in many parts of the city. In AECS Layout, Whitefield, garbage collectors are demanding Rs 100 per house and the pourakarmikas are not clearing the garbage on a regular basis.

Ms Radhika Gupta, a resident of Layout, said, “The BBMP garbage collector takes Rs 100 from each independent house and they refuse to collect garbage from apartments.

But despite paying the money, garbage is collected only once or twice a week. There are weeks when it is not collected at all. People have been throwing garbage into empty plots and road corners.”

She said, “A big paying accommodation has come up in the layout. A BBMP auto comes to collect the garbage from there. But when we asked, the driver said that those managing the PG pay them and we should too.

The Palike says that none of the PGs in the city have been registered. But here is one that gets dedicated service from the BBMP despite not getting the registration!”

Another resident, Mr Sudhir K., said, “Four months ago, a pourakarmika used to come and collect garbage for Rs 50 per month. She said that she took money from individual houses as the contractor, who had employed her, was not paying her regularly.

But she has not been seen in the last few days, and no one else is collecting garbage. We take our garbage bags to the main road and hand them over to the trucks. But the workers in the lorries always ask for money. These lorries do not have a fixed schedule and we end up waiting for a long time.”

Voicing a similar opinion, Mr Niranjan S., a resident, said, “Paying Rs 100 is not a big deal, but it is unaccounted money and it is the duty of BBMP to pay the pourakarmikas. This is a local issue as well as a common issue to Bengaluru. My problem is, despite we paying, no one comes to collect the garbage.”