Uncleared garbage raises stink in Banaswadi

Sanjay R. Murty
Bengaluru

Banaswadi ward (new ward number 100) is located in the eastern part of Bengaluru. It comes under the BBMP’s East zone and the Sarvajnanagar Assembly Constituency. The ward includes Dodda Banaswadi, HRBR Layout, Kalyan Nagar, Bhuvanagiri, Vijaya Bank Colony and parts of OMBR Layout. Ward 100 is surrounded by Lalbahadur Nagar ward on its south and Kammanahalli and HRBR Layout wards on its west.

The Outer Ring Road forms the northern and eastern boundary of Banaswadi ward. The ward is dotted with several public waste bins. Each location has a separate bin for dry and wet waste. However, these spots have turned into places for irresponsible dumping of garbage. The bins here have not been cleared and, as a result, people have dumped garbage around them at each of these spots. “We have complained to the ward nodal officer several times and tried to get it cleared, but it is not done regularly,” said Vikas (name changed). He added that though the door-to-door waste collection is regular, some residents, who miss the collection vehicle, tend to dump waste in bins at road corners. “Some shop-owners also dump waste and drive away on two-wheelers,” he said.

The 8th Main East Road and 8th Main West Roads in HRBR Layout are parallel roads with a storm water drain in between. The fence along the drain has prevented people from accessing the drain and littering it. However, the roads along the fence have several black spots. There are piles of debris from houses under construction and other waste strewn along the road.

HRBR Layout’s 1st A Cross between Doddabanaswadi Main Road and 7th Main Road is full of garbage dumped on one side. The side of this road along the vacant land behind Banaswadi Fire Station is used for dumping all sorts of waste – from piles of domestic waste to car scrap. The area has become home to pigs which feed on the waste dumped here. Rain washes the garbage onto the road and affects the movement of vehicles. The sludge from the dump covers a part of the road and fills the area with stench.

Padma (name changed), a resident who stays near the HRBR Park opined that removing the bins would be an ideal solution. “As long as there are bins at these spots, people will continue to dump waste around the bins. Removing them may not eliminate the problem of black spots, but I hope it will reduce the number of dirty street corners,” she said

The roads of HRBR layout are well maintained. In other areas like Doddabanaswadi and Vijaya Bank Colony, roads have several potholes that need to be filled. On the stretch of Outer Ring Road along Vijaya Bank Colony, the roadside drains are being cleaned. As a result, the covering slabs have been removed. The silt and mud from the drains have been piled up along the ORR’s service road and not cleared in time. This has made it difficult for commuters, especially during heavy rains. The main roads of Banaswadi ward have been whitetopped.

On the 100-feet road, the sides of the road, in some spots, have gathered thick sludge which has not been cleared. This makes it difficult for pedestrians to access the sidewalk In some parts of the ward, roads have been dug by telecom service providers to lay cables. Due to this, road users are finding it difficult to move freely through the narrow interior lanes of Jai Jawan Nagar.

With the Bengaluru Metro Rail project’s work in progress on the Outer Ring Road near Banaswadi Ward, vehicular movement is slowed down at some points while approaching the area from the Hennur underpass. In addition to taking up a part of the ORR, the excavation has also led to problems for ORR commuters.

Following heavy rain, workers at the site are sometimes seen pouring muddy water from the project site in the middle of ORR onto the road. In the absence of an alternative arrangement to clear the site of rainwater, the work is causing inconvenience to commuters.