Bangalore:
Mandur is perhaps Karnataka's most untidy village. Just 25 km away from Bangalore, this landfill site bears the brunt of the IT city's garbage. The residents here have been protesting for years against dumping of garbage which has created mounds, some as high as 70 feet, and led to respiratory diseases.
So, they invited Chief Minister K Siddaramaiah over the weekend to experience the air, the water, the food of Mandur, which have all been contaminated. But to their surprise, the village got a makeover in just three days so that the stench doesn't reach the nostrils of the Chief Minister.
"One private company was called in three days back because the Chief Minister is coming. They put some soap water, chemicals and medicines. So from last three days we do not have a bad smell here," said Gopal Rao, a villager.
Mr Siddaramaiah, who spent about three hours in the village, promised dumping of garbage in Mandur will stop by December. "By December, we will find a new dumping site. We will also process this garbage, though it will take 3-4 years. I am visiting Mandur for the first time, I will solve this problem," the Chief Minister said. Government sources say areas like Nelamangala and Chikkaballapura are being considered in the process of identification of a new landfill.
But the villagers say the damage is irreversible. "Our children fall ill so often, they are coughing throughout the year. Our crops don't grow, the water is not pure. The chief minister has come, he has seen for himself. But God alone knows what changes he will bring," said 70-year-old Nanjamma, an asthma patient.
Bangalore produces nearly 4500 metric tonnes of garbage each day. Experts say setting up processing plants to scientifically treat the day's garbage at the landfill is the key. But it requires planning. Instead, the government, it seems, is thinking about getting foreign help raising concerns about burden on the state's coffers.
For the record, Mandur is the third such landfill in the last three years. And by December, another area will be chosen to dump waste.