Our waste, their lives
Mandur residents have threatened to commit mass suicide if BBMP dumps even one truckload of garbage from June 1.
Pushed to a corner after residents of Mandur refused to allow waste from the city to be dumped in their village — an issue that resulted in massive heaps of garbage lining roadsides — early last year, local politicians and civic agency officials brokered a peace deal. Residents of Mandur relented only after the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) promised not to dump any more waste from June 1, 2014. It set the clock ticking.
Officials had more than a year to find a permanent solution to the issue, but the BBMP, typically, is no closer to a solution now than it was when the deal was struck last year. Worse, the civic agency and the government has an even bigger problem on its hands — the lives of Mandur villagers.
Earlier this week, residents of Mandur had prevented hundreds of garbage-laden trucks from entering the dump yard. Now, they have threatened to commit mass suicide if the BBMP dumps “even a single truck-load” of garbage from June 1.
Chandrashekhar Gowda, a resident of Mandur, said, “The dump yard falls within the limits of two village panchayats —Mandur and Bidarahalli. The two villages have a total population of about 20,000 to 25,000. At least 10,000 to 15,000 villagers have expressed solidarity with us (with the plan of committing suicide). We have lost our livelihood ever since the civic agency began dumping waste here. The garbage has begun to take a toll on our health. Even if the government sets up a hospital, our suffering will not end until the garbage is cleared. We have to start somewhere and it will start from today.”
It spells another crisis for the city. The villagers have decided to cordon off the village, blocking all approaches for trucks to dump waste. On Sunday, villagers will sit on an indefinite strike outside Mandur, blocking the entry of trucks.
“We have no alternative,” said Manjunath, a resident of Mandur village and a social worker. “We cannot stand the stench and the pollution anymore. We either have to end this dumping or die.”
Ramalinga Reddy, the minister in charge of Bangalore, on Saturday, initiated a fresh round of talks with villagers. But villagers were not listening. “The villagers do not want the BBMP to dump any more waste in their village,” a senior BBMP official who was present during the talks said. “Even though the ministersought another six months to clear the mess completely and dump the waste in four different locations, the villagers refused to accept the minister’s request. They have threatened to end their lives if the government sends even a single truckload of waste. They say the government will be held responsible for the consequences.”
Pushed to a corner after residents of Mandur refused to allow waste from the city to be dumped in their village — an issue that resulted in massive heaps of garbage lining roadsides — early last year, local politicians and civic agency officials brokered a peace deal. Residents of Mandur relented only after the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) promised not to dump any more waste from June 1, 2014. It set the clock ticking.
Officials had more than a year to find a permanent solution to the issue, but the BBMP, typically, is no closer to a solution now than it was when the deal was struck last year. Worse, the civic agency and the government has an even bigger problem on its hands — the lives of Mandur villagers.
Earlier this week, residents of Mandur had prevented hundreds of garbage-laden trucks from entering the dump yard. Now, they have threatened to commit mass suicide if the BBMP dumps “even a single truck-load” of garbage from June 1.
Chandrashekhar Gowda, a resident of Mandur, said, “The dump yard falls within the limits of two village panchayats —Mandur and Bidarahalli. The two villages have a total population of about 20,000 to 25,000. At least 10,000 to 15,000 villagers have expressed solidarity with us (with the plan of committing suicide). We have lost our livelihood ever since the civic agency began dumping waste here. The garbage has begun to take a toll on our health. Even if the government sets up a hospital, our suffering will not end until the garbage is cleared. We have to start somewhere and it will start from today.”
It spells another crisis for the city. The villagers have decided to cordon off the village, blocking all approaches for trucks to dump waste. On Sunday, villagers will sit on an indefinite strike outside Mandur, blocking the entry of trucks.
“We have no alternative,” said Manjunath, a resident of Mandur village and a social worker. “We cannot stand the stench and the pollution anymore. We either have to end this dumping or die.”
Ramalinga Reddy, the minister in charge of Bangalore, on Saturday, initiated a fresh round of talks with villagers. But villagers were not listening. “The villagers do not want the BBMP to dump any more waste in their village,” a senior BBMP official who was present during the talks said. “Even though the ministersought another six months to clear the mess completely and dump the waste in four different locations, the villagers refused to accept the minister’s request. They have threatened to end their lives if the government sends even a single truckload of waste. They say the government will be held responsible for the consequences.”
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