Railways, BBMP spar, Benson town chokes

Bengaluru: A drive on Borebank road in Benson Town along the railway line will make you wrinkle your nose in disgust. There is a mountain of wet and dry garbage and locals claim it has been like that for almost 10 years. Since a portion of the area belongs to the Railways and the rest to BBMP, none of them want to take up responsibility. The garbage also clogs manholes and the road gets inundated during monsoon.

“The road sloping down from the railway track is filled with garbage that has come on to the footpath. When it rains, it is worse because the waste flows onto the road. The stench is bad and there is the risk of health hazard, especially dengue, due to mosquitoes,” said Sunita Roque, a local resident.

“For other black spots in this area, we have pitched in '4000 per spot and got it cleared. Corporator Gunashekar of the Jayamahal ward had assured he would get this one cleared, but didn’t do so. There is also a foot overbridge and either sides of the bridge there are debris and animal carcasses. We began complaining three months ago because we wanted to get it cleared before the rains,” said Joel Samuel, Secretary of Benson Town Welfare Association.

“We met Joint Commissioner (East) Yatish Kumar, who inspected the area a month ago. He said he had instructed the Junior Engineer, Assistant Engineer and AEEs and promised to clear it up. The garbage contractor of the area also said it will be cleared by July 16. But it has not happened”, the residents said.

“This black spot falls within area that belonging to railways as well as BBMP. The garbage up to the pavement falls within railway area, while the rest belongs to the BBMP and neither of them is willing to take up the responsibility to clean the mess,” they added.

“We requested the railway authorities to build a wall, so they could plant trees and form a canopy. But they built only half of it citing lack of funds. They also blamed the BBMP for not clearing the waste”, said Sunita. As the blame game continues, residents are now wondering if they will have to pay from their own pockets to get the area cleared.

People come in vehicles and dump garbage: Mohd Zameer Shah

DC speaks to Mohd Zameer Shah, Corporator, S.K. Garden ward. Excerpts.

There is a huge garbage dump near the footpath on Borebank road. Why has nothing been done?
We make sure garbage is picked up every night, except on Sundays. But we don’t know who comes and dumps it again. There are people who come in their vehicles, throw waste and leave. We can’t monitor who does this.
 
Local residents said they have complained to you and other civic officials regarding this and they also promised action. Why has this not happened yet?
I got elected only 10 months ago. It is taking time. I have been trying to co-ordinate with Joint Commissioner Yatish Kumar, a NGO, AE, AEE and JE of the area to address the problem.
 
Why is it taking so long to address the problem?
There were around 35 pourakarmikas who used to clear the garbage in this area. Recently six of them retired.
The others too are old, most of them aged around 50, and could not do the job well. I have asked for a change in pourakarmikas. Till now we have just been clearing the garbage out a daily basis. But now we are looking for a permanent solution.

What can be done to solve it permanently and how long will it take?
I went along with Joint Commissioner Yatish Kumar, Urban Development Minister Roshan Baig and Special Commissioner Raveendra for an inspection on Saturday.

We met with the railway authorities and sought their permission to clear the garbage. We are still waiting for them to confirm it in writing.

We also got a private contractor to clear the waste. It will be done in a week or 15 days. As for the wall, the Railways and the BBMP will build it together. Construction can start only after a month.