‘Waste segregation could have saved Mavallipura’
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If only everyone segregated waste at source, giving recyclable plastics, bottles and metals to local raddiwalas and composted organic waste that constitutes the major portion of household rubbish, 60 per cent of the garbage generated in Bengaluru would not exist.
This can be done as a community building initiative in an apartment, street or layout and the manure produced can help create urban vegetable gardens.
Municipalities must assist communities in such transitions, that do not take much time or effort at all. Instead, our municipalities invest almost all the money they allocate for solid waste management in transporting waste and creating toxic landfills.
The result is extensive environmental damage and the creation of a public health hazard. Bengaluru city alone invests `450 crore every year in merely taking waste to distant landfills.
For years about 1,000 tonnes of waste from the city has been dumped every day in Mavallipura. The accumulated load of waste here is around 15 lakhs tonnes!
The organic waste putrefies, releasing effluents that let out a stench and makes breathing difficult. These fluids work through other toxic materials contained in the mountains of rubbish, such as acids, heavy metals, and highly dangerous pathogens, and contaminate soil and drinking water sources. The impact on people and cattle is devastating.
The milk federation recenty refused to source milk from this area and several have died of diseases like cancer, kidney failure, immunity loss, asthma and dengue here.
There is an epidemic of highly infectious gastro-intestinal diseases among the villagers who are constantly tormented by unbelievable swarms of flies and mosquitoes.
The situation is so bad that people are forced to eat all their meals sitting inside mosquito nets. The morbidity in these villages is so high that young people do not get marriage offers.
No one wishes this kind of life on anyone. The people of Mavallipura are fully within their rights when saying enough is enough, and demanding a shut-down of the landfill operated by Ramky. Like it or not, we have no choice but to do exactly that.
The Environmental Support Group (ESG) has produced a variety of environmental education material to address concerns raised by poor garbage management with support of leading actors and filmmakers.
Such material could be easily used by municipal staff to engage with communities and elected representatives to ensure that much of the waste we generate is turned into an asset.
The writer is a co-ordinator, Environment Support Group
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