Despite having door-to-door garbage collection in the City, numerous black spots persist where mixed waste is indiscriminately dumped, posing a significant challenge for the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to clear them effectively. Over the last two years, the BBMP has attempted to reduce the number of black spots in the City, but they still persist.
In 2021, the BBMP claimed to have eliminated the number of black spots to 1,000 from 2,500. With the assistance of The Ugly Indians, BBMP marshals, and pourakarmikas, the BBMP had begun mapping blackspots which has now reduced the number to 74 as on July 23, going by the official claim. The BBMP had also started an initiative in 2019 to convert black spots into nurseries. Though the initiative did well in many areas, BBMP says that it is a temporary move and not a permanent solution to eliminate black spots in the City.
According to data provided by the BBMP, in March 2023, Bengaluru had 149 blackspots spread across all the zones in Bengaluru, with the highest number of blackspots identified in Mahadevapura (67), and the lowest number of black spots in Bengaluru West, Yelahanka, and Dasarahalli, with two black spots in each zone. However, over the last four months, as of July 2023, the total number of black spots stand at 74 with the highest number of black spots again identified in Mahadevapura and Bommanahalli, both with 22 blackspots each, and lowest in RR Nagar with zero black spots identified.
Scepticism over official numbers
However, not all are convinced by the official data of the BBMP. They say that more black spots are clearly all over the place that BBMP seems to have turned a blind eye to.
Raghav Kumar, a member of a resident welfare association in an apartment on Doddaballapur Road in the Yelahanka zone says, “It is impossible that we have just two black spots in our zone. Although the Mavallipura landfill is no longer functional, the area around it has become a dump yard for garbage. Along the stretches of Ramagondanahalli, there are multiple black spots where there is no one to keep an eye on. That one stretch itself has more than two black spots.”
Not easy to keep track
Justifying the numbers, BBMP Chief Marshal Rajbir Singh said, “Keeping track and procuring accurate data about black spots in an absolute sense is impossible. Black spots that are cleared and noted in the day are back sometimes in the evenings. As we speak now, a new black spot will emerge. Zones like Yelahanka, Dasarahalli, and Bengaluru West may have just two black spots according to data on a said day, but it could be less or more within just a few hours. It is hard for the BBMP to keep track of black spots in the city.”
Speaking particularly about the Mahadevapura situation to The Hindu, Harish Kumar, Special Commissioner, SWM, blamed the “rurban” culture in Mahadevapura for the zone having the highest number of black spots. “The zone has a very rurban (rural-urban) culture due to which waste management is lacking in the area. Mahadevapura is the highest income and waste generating zone in Bengaluru, with a rising number of tech-parks and apartments, where people claim to not have the time for segregation and management. On the other hand, people in the rural pockets on the outskirts may lack knowledge of garbage management. Due to this the number of black spots in the area are not controllable,” he said.
Mr. Kumar said that the last resort is to penalise violators to reduce the number of black spots. “Though the BBMP has been trying to educate residents and organisations in the zone to manage waste, it is still not under control. The last resort is to strictly penalise offenders and violators,” he said.
Unbridled growth
Residents of the zone also feel that the drastic growth of infrastructure and population in Mahadevapura is contributing to the persistent blackspots in the area. “Mahadevapura is a big zone geographically compared to other zones in Bengaluru. In the last five years, the area has grown a lot compared to the rest of the City, there are multiple houses and apartments constructed every day, due to which waste generation has increased,” Anuradha Govind from Doddanekundi.
“The BBMP must keep in mind the growth of the city and come up with a plan that is five years ahead. Currently, there is a shortage of garbage tippers, manpower, and infrastructure to manage waste collection. If a tipper does not show up one odd day, residents end up dumping it on the streets adding it to the increasing blackspots,” she adds.
Another resident Viji Raja, from Ramagondanahalli, says the BBMP must strengthen their monitoring skills “There are plenty of empty plots where garbage gets collected. There are many constructions happening too, due to which construction debris is also increasing. At these empty plots and construction sites, waste is not monitored by the BBMP. The civic body focuses on only allotted areas or communities and ignores these empty plots which are adding to the increasing number of black spots in the area.”
BBMP should do more
Mailini Parmar, a solid waste management expert and co-founder of Hasiru Dala, says, “Way back in 2011 segregating waste was not even a compulsion, but our community in urban Mahadevapura had started segregating waste despite having a busy lifestyle. Even in rural areas of Mahadevapura like Kanamangala, residents in the area have started segregating waste after we started working with them closely. Blaming the ‘rurban’ culture for the increasing number of black spots in the city is not justified. The BBMP must get down on the ground, understand the issues in the zone and come up with a plan to implement segregation at source.”
There are zones in the city like Dasarahalli and Bommanahalli that have an average of 90% segregation due to the efforts put in by the BBMP staff and residents of the zones, she points out. “Staff who worked in these zones must be put incharge of zones like Mahadevapura. We must also understand that collective efforts not just from the BBMP but also by elected representatives, waste volunteers, and residents, can help to eliminate the black spots in Mahadevapura.”
