Locals residing in Bengaluru’s Electronic City Phase 2 on Saturday, May 11, staged a protest to shut down the waste management plant located at Chikkanagamangala after the plant allegedly started releasing leachate, intensifying the stench in the neighbourhood.

The residents reportedly also blocked the entry of garbage trucks from the city into the plant and burnt tyres in disapproval.

Horrendously leachate is released from MSW plant at Chikkanagamangala. It can’t more shameful than this act of #BBMP@BBMPSWMSplComm @Randeep_Dev.Act now & provide relief to thousands of residents of E-City@Captain_Mani72@karnatakaspcb @BSYBJP#ShutDownSWMPlant pic.twitter.com/Xaf2U6X4dZ

— Electronic City Rising (@ECityRising) July 10, 2020

Residents have blocked the road from Chikkanagamangala in protest against this ghastly act of #BBMP@BlrCityPolice is on the spotWhen will you stop in humane treatment of people living in vicinity of this plant? @BBMPSWMSplComm @BBMPCOMM @BBMP_MAYOR @drashwathcn @nimmasuresh pic.twitter.com/D2phM239iE

— Electronic City Rising (@ECityRising) July 11, 2020

‘The situation has gone from bad to worse. It was literally awful on Friday night. We citizens need a resolution from this menace created by the BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike). We’re facing a double whammy of poisonous stink from the plant and now BBMP has started releasing untreated leachate from the plant which will spoil underground water and other water bodies in the vicinity of the plant.’

‘The situation is pathetic now because due to COVID-19 restrictions, residents have to remain at home but the BBMP has made this place uninhabitable,’ he said, reported The News Minute.

The president also claimed that the untreated leachate that was released from the plant would pollute underground water, other water bodies in the area in addition to emanating foul smell which poses health risks for the residents.

Vishwanath, Chief Engineer, Solid Waste Management from BBMP, the city’s civic body, however, denied the release of leachate.

‘I spoke to the plant manager and some modifications that have been proposed will soon be implemented in the plant and the existing problems will be sorted. Rather than leachate, it was rainwater that had overflowed into the plant from a nearby lake bund. That water got mixed with some colour meant for painting the garbage trucks, which made the water look like leachate,’ he said.

The New Indian Express also reported the official denying allegations of leachate being released from the plant. He also said that sand has been placed to stop the flow.

The Chikkanagamangala Solid Waste Management plant has been the point of controversy since the time it was setup. It is located in the midst of villages, schools, gated communities, IT companies and has become a mere waste dumping yard causing health hazards to the residents.

Also Read: India’s 2018 Tiger Census Sets Guinness Record For Being World’s Largest Camera Trap Wildlife Survey