Entering Ilyas Nagar? Hold your breath

Bengaluru: Despite a blanket ban on dumping of garbage, Ilyas Nagar near Kumaraswamy Layout is filled with filth. Area residents are worried about their health and to make things worse, youngsters studying at Dayananda Sagar Institutions, which is situated right next to the locality, have to wade through the filth to reach the college.

Local residents claimed that though the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is doing a good job of cleaning the area, meat shop owners from nearby localities, like Umar Bagh and Banashankari, are dumping animal waste here.

“We must admit that the situation has, by and large, improved from what it was a couple of years ago. But vacant plots have turned into black spots. The foul smell from the garbage engulfs the entire locality,” said Mr Aniruddha Narayan Lal, a resident.

When this correspondent visited the area, he found that the net tied to the polls of a vacant land to prevent dumping was torn and barbwire broken. The residents also said that leachate from these garbage dumps contaminates the groundwater, raising a health alarm.

Mr Gaurav Kashyap, who has been staying in Ilyas Nagar for the last five years, suggested that installation of CCTV cameras and its proper monitoring would prevent unauthorised dumping.

“Just the installation of cameras will serve no purpose. Meat shops and eateries dump garbage here in the dead of the night. There have been cases of robbery too. Proper monitoring of the area after the installation of cameras is needed,” he said.

A horrid stench covers the entire area as animal waste is burnt in nearby localities.   Also, pedestrians find it difficult to use footpaths, which have been encroached by auto repair shops.

“These shops are right before the eyes of authorities, still nothing has been done. We are not saying that these shops should be shut, but authorities should ensure that there is enough space for pedestrians to move about. How can one expect pedestrians to walk on the ring road, which has very heavy traffic,” asked Mohammad Asif, a commuter to Ilyas Nagar.

Q&A with the BBMP Health Inspector, Mr Babu Khan

The burning of garbage is still rampant in Ilyas Nagar. How will BBMP tackle the menace?
We toiled hard to control the situation in Ilyas Nagar, where animal waste was being dumped. It used to be the biggest dumping ground and areas nearby used to stink. We convinced the shops and somehow brought the situation under control. Most of the garbage comes from Banashankari and Umar Bagh. We are at it.

Is the issue of encroachment of footpaths by auto-repair shops being addressed?
We can easily remove encroachments on footpaths. If these issues are pointed out to us, we will take action. Already, we have removed encroachments from certain sections.

Every ward has been mandated to install CCTV cameras. When can we expect that to happen in this ward?
Very soon, CCTV cameras will be installed in the area. Rs 10 lakh has been allotted to the ward for the project.