Vijinanapura residents want burning of animal waste to stop

Permanent solution for waste burning isn't possible, say officials. People are desperate for some respite, and have taken to social media to seek help.

For more than a year, residents of Vijinanapura have been complaining to the BBMP about illegal dumping of animal waste near Benniganahalli Lake. There are about eight butcher shops in the 1.5 km stretch from Purva Midtown and the KR Puram Railways station. Everyday, feathers, inedible meat, carcasses (and at one time even a dead cow) are burnt near an overlay bridge at 3rd main road. The smoke, residue and stench from this has made life miserable for them.

“This happens every morning, where tempo trucks drive up, dump about seven to eight cement bags of animal waste which they then set on fire creating a health hazard for everybody living around” says Sridhar Kapa, a member of KR Puram Rising and a resident of the area for about two years. The professional was diagnosed with bronchitis which his doctors ascribe to the inhalation of residue from the burning.

Burning of waste continues without break.

The BBMP has been notified about the problem multiple times. There have been two protests in the recent times. “But we have had instances where the BBMP themselves are dumping debris and waste. They pick up the pace (of cleaning) for a few weeks after people make some noise and then it is back to square one. But there hasn’t been a permanent solution to the problem; only stop gap arrangements” says Sridhar.

The animal waste that is burnt near 3rd A main road includes meat, feathers among other things.

The area falls under a BJP corporator and an MLA from Congress and therefore political help is fractured at best. “We went to the corporator recently to discuss possible permanent solutions to the problem. We were told that with the upcoming elections, the model code of conduct would be in place soon, so permanent solutions wouldn’t be possible immediately!” he says.

The residents have now taken to Twitter, tagging the Chief Minister’s office, the BBMP Mayor and even the Swacch Bharat App to highlight the problem since the start of the month.

According to BBMP’s Solid Waste Management Plan for Vijinanapura ward, there are 20 auto tippers, 1 compactor and 118 pourakarmikas to keep area clean. 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Similar Story

Scorched cities: Documenting the intense Indian summer of 2024 

Here is a round up of how the heat wave has impacted cities across the country and the measures being taken to combat it.

Summer in India has been abnormally hot this year and will continue to be so till June 2024, warns the India Meteorological Department (IMD). As reported by The Wire, in a virtual press conference on April 1st, IMD director general Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said that in the months from April till June, most of India will witness temperatures above normal. IMD's caution comes at a time when the UN’s World Meteorological Organisation also recently warned that 2024 will likely face worse summers after global heat records across the world.  “During the 2024 hot weather season [April to June (AMJ)], above-normal maximum…

Similar Story

The trials of being an urban farmer in Delhi’s Yamuna floodplains

Agriculture around the Yamuna is strictly prohibited due to river pollution concerns, but where does that leave the farmers?

The river Yamuna enters Delhi from a village called Palla and travels for about 48 km. There is a part of the river, approximately 22 km long, between Wazirabad and Okhla, which is severely polluted, but for the remaining 26 km of its course, the river is still fairly clean. The surroundings serve as a habitat for a large number of trees, flowers, farms, birds, and people who have been living here for as long as they can remember. They are the urban farmers of Delhi-NCR, and they provide grains and vegetables for people living in the city. Although farming…