Garbage pile-up along rail track continues unabated

By Y Maheswara Reddy | NT

Bengaluru: Residents of New Byappanahalli and hundreds of motorists have been struggling to cope with the stench emanating from garbage accumulated along the railway track.

On Friday morning around 20 pourakarmikas were seen clearing garbage on a barely used railway track. They were seen struggling to clear garbage on the railway track. “I sent 20 pourakarmikas along with a supervisor once a week to clear garbage on the railway track. The pourakarmikas have cleared three auto- tipper loads of garbage today,” said BBMP health supervisor Murthy.

Blaming irresponsible residents for the garbage pile up, BBMP Health Inspector (ward no. 79) Divya M has said that residents have been dumping trash along the railway track despite door-to-door garbage collection. “I have been appealing to the residents to hand over garbage to pourakarmikas who come to their doorsteps. I have tried my best to create awareness among the residents on the need of handing garbage to pourakarmikas, but in vain,” said Divya.

Some residents blame the BBMP health officials for not beautifying a few black spots (garbage dumps) along the railway track. A heap of garbage was set on fire along the railway track near V Shankar Enterprises at 7th Cross. The residents blame the BBMP workers for setting garbage on fire instead of transporting it to the designated location. “We have been appealing to the BBMP health officials to clear garbage. The BBMP health officials blame miscreants for the fire,” said Kamala S, a homemaker.

The railways have put up a board – Don’t put garbage here - advising the public not to dump garbage along the railway track. It may be recalled that railways have joined hands with the BBMP in October 2020 not only to keep railway tracks clean but also penalize those who dump garbage on the railway tracks. They had identified most of the black spots along Bengaluru-Chennai, Bengaluru- Tumakuru and Bengaluru- Mysuru railway lines.

If the heap of garbage along Bengaluru-Chennai railway track is any indication, it seems neither the BBMP authorities nor the railway officials have done anything to clear it. “I want the BBMP authorities not only to clear garbage but also asphalt the road for the benefit of thousands of motorists who use this road to reach Cox Town from New Byappanahalli,” said Bharathinagar Residents’ Welfare Association president N.S. Ravi.