With villagers at Mavallipura too threatening to launch the next stage of agitation to prevent garbage trucks from dumping waste, civic body will find itself in a bind.
Last week, BBMP officials managed to convince some leaders of villagers in Mandur to allow unlimited number of garbage trucks to dump waste till October 29. If BBMP sends unlimited number of trucks to the local landfill beyond Monday, villagers are getting ready to start their protest all over again.
Meanwhile, though the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has reportedly given permission to dump waste at Mavallipura, villagers vow not to allow any truck to enter the village.
M Ramesh, member of Ramagondanahalli grama panchayath where Mavallipura village belongs to, said: “Officials are saying KSPCB has issued a letter giving permission to dump garbage. But so far the BBMP has not sent garbage lorries to dump waste in Mavallipura. We will not allow even if they come to dump. Due to festivals, we could not get the KSPCB letter. We will try to get it tomorrow. After looking into the letter, we will plan the next stage of our protest.”
Mavallipura villagers are unlikely to allow garbage trucks for another week. This will put BBMP in a bind, as Mandur villagers are not going to allow unlimited number of trucks to dump waste beyond Monday. “If BBMP officials do not stick to their promise, we will protest and set the lorries on fire,” said Srikanth MJ, a Mandur villager.
“BBMP commissioner Rajneesh Goel and health minister Aravind Limbavali promised us they will give a written letter stating that only 225 lorries will dump garbage after October 30. We will meet the officials tomorrow or on Tuesday. If they don’t stick to the agreement, we will start protest again,” said Bairesh, another villager.
“Considering festivals, the officials requested us to allow unlimited lorries to dump waste till October 29. Now the festivals are over. These days more than 400 lorries dumped garbage. We will not allow that to happen after Monday,” he said.
According to Mandur villagers, a committee has been formed to monitor the number of lorries that will come to dump garbage at the landfill. “The committee already has 20 members and many are coming forward to join the committee. The committee members will monitor the number of lorries that will come to dump waste,” said a villager.
“BBMP officials also promised us that they are not going to send open lorries. The lorries will come between 10 pm and 5 am. According to officials, from now until November end, 225 garbage lorries would dump waste at the Mandur landfill. During December, 150 lorries would dump Garbage and in January (till January 29), only 75 lorries would dump waste. After January 29, they will not send any lorries to dump garbage at the landfill at all.
All this will be mentioned in the agreement they are going to give us in which both the officials and villagers are going to sign,” Bairesh said.
“Last week, Mandur panchayat members did not support the protest. This time people have realised what kind of responsibility they have. Whether they support us or not, we will fight for our rights,” he said. According to villagers, if the agreement is not signed, the protest may turn violent.
When DNA tried to contact BBMP and KSPCB officials, the calls went unattended.
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