After cleaning up 200 black spots, Palike now focuses on large dumps

BENGALURU : The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is on a spring-cleaning mode, having beautified 200 black spots in just about 10 days. Determined to eradicate the 1,600 black spots it has identified across the city, the agency has now decided to clear larger ones.
BBMP special commissioner D Randeep said zonal joint commissioners and superintending engineers have been asked to rise to the garbage spots elimination challenge and identify at least 15 largest garbage vulnerable points (GVPs) in their jurisdictions.“Officials should ensure that once a GVP is cleaned, nearby locations don’t turn into dumpyards,” he said.
The civic agency is being guided by The Ugly Indian volunteers, who have trained BBMP’s health inspectors and sanitation workers to reclaim and beautify black spots.“The removal of black spots is being done entirely by BBMP teams — no citizen volunteers or NGOs are involved. It’s an incredible achievement and augurs well for Bengaluru. Not only were these spots cleaned and adorned, but BBMP health inspectors also kept vigil for several nights and addressed the root causes that created these chronic open garbage spots,” said a volunteer from The Ugly Indian.
He said most of the black spots had been used as dumpyards for years. The Rajyotsava Rangoli Habba held across the city from November 1 to 4 served as a precursor to a more serious space transformation effort being undertaken at all open garbage spots, he added.
Randeep said the agency’s efforts have been documented and will be submitted to the high court. BBMP officials believe the clean-up drive will send out a clear message that the civic body is proactive in tackling the garbage menace and hence the identified GVPs should be in high-visibility areas — arterial roads, near tourist sites, major road junctions, VVIPs pockets and commercial hubs.
The zonal officers have been told to include the spots where garbage is shifted from auto-tippers to compactors in GVPs. Randeep has directed officials to zero in on active NGOs and resident welfare associations (RWAs) and seek their help in identifying GVPs.