Garbage disposal hit in Bengaluru as villagers block 150 trucks

Bengaluru: Garbage clearance in the city is likely to be affected from Wednesday with residents of villages around Bellahalli waste processing and dumping yard in north Bengaluru blocking more than 150 trucks since Monday to protest the non-release of village development funds for nearly two years.The trucks are stranded near the landfill site. The crisis is set to worsen from Thursday if the state govt doesn't intervene and end the stalemate.
While the 30-acre Bellahalli handles waste from northern and eastern parts of Bengaluru, the city has five more landfills to receive nearly 6,000 tonnes of waste it generates every day: Mittaganahalli, Kannur, Chikkanagamangala, Kannahalli, and Doddabidarakallu.Officials said until the stranded trucks return from Bellahalli after unloading trash, garbage-disposal operations across Bengaluru cannot resume normally. Prolonged disruption could lead to a build-up of garbage in several areas. Pointing to the broken road infrastructure caused by non-stop movement of garbage-laden trucks, residents are demanding funds promised to the area as part of agreements linked to waste management activities."As per earlier understandings between the authorities and the local community, additional financial support was to be provided for infrastructure development and maintenance in view of the environmental and civic burden caused by continuous dumping of city waste," said Gangesh Manjunath, a resident of Bellahalli.Residents argued that the waste disposal operations have resulted in recurring public health concerns, including frequent outbreaks of infectious diseases. "Since the money has not been released for two years, we've decided not to allow garbage dumping," Suresh Lingaraj, another local resident, said. Several truck drivers confirmed the stand-off."We are aware of the issue and are in touch with local representatives. Talks will be held not later than Thursday to resolve the issue," an official said. "They requested us for Rs 500 crore for village development, but we granted Rs 90 crore. They are not happy with it. Waste collection might be partially affected," admitted a senior official of Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Ltd, while hinting that political pressure was making the negotiations tougher.