Bengaluru Burning: The City’s Garbage Crisis is Raising a Stink

The garbage crisis in Bengaluru has turned into a ‘burning’ issue. (Photo: The Quint)

During the colonial era, divide and rule was the British policy and in 2015 Karnataka High court found that the solution to Bengaluru’s humongous garbage mess lies in the same.

The Court ordered a strict ‘division’ of waste at source. Households were instructed to segregate waste into dry, wet and hazardous and municipal corporation workers ie the BBMP was instructed not to collect mixed waste at any cost.

While many believed this had potential to resolve Bengaluru’s waste crisis, what followed was a new problem altogether.

Everyday, dawn to dusk, piles of mixed waste are burnt in Bengaluru, choking the environment with toxic gases.

Bengaluru Municipal Corporation is yet to facilitate door to door waste collection and all across the city, tonnes of ‘mixed garbage’ is thrown onto the streets. BBMP workers who are ultimately responsible for clearing the garbage, find it hard to segregate the waste, and easier to burn and eliminate it.

While the corporation-politician-contractor nexus ensures that none of the cost efficient waste management proposals from NGOs and private players are implemented, waste disposal has literally become a BURNING issue in Bengaluru.