Dumping Waste In Drains Leads To Notice By BBMP To Two Malls
Two malls near Sony Junction, Koramangala, Bengaluru have been issued a notice by BBMP officials for indiscriminately dumping their wastes in the drains, as reported by The Deccan Chronicle. They have also added that truckloads of waste have been lifted from a stormwater drain in Koramangala.
What happened
Owing to heavy rains over the last few days, there has been waterlogging in several areas of Bengaluru. Drains are overflowing and both civic authorities and citizens are at fault. Citizens mostly blame the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike (BBMP) for poor upkeep of drains; civic authorities, in turn, blame the citizens for the rampant dumping of garbage in the drains.
When the BBMP commissioner was asked whether unfinished drain work in the city was the reason behind clogging of the drains and over flooding, he said that a sudden 150-180 mm rainfall was not anticipated and this has lead to flooding of the drains.
A drain at HSR Layout was recently in the news for being clogged owing to the dumping of polythene bags. Water overflowed from drains at 16th cross. Hawkers often complain of the plastic waste being dumped into the drains by their customers. One of the Hawkers who sells fast food at Koramangala told The Deccan Chronicle, “I keep a dustbin and make it a point not to throw a single plate or polyethene bag into the drain as not an only corporation, but police personnel will also fine us. The customers throw without our knowledge and we have to bear the brunt.”
Ramprasad, an environmental activist with the citizens’ group, Friends for Lakes told The News Minute, “The problem is that these storm water drains are clogged with garbage and sewage throughout the year. When there are heavy rains, there is no space for rainwater to flow through them and results in waterlogging. BBMP has said that it is in the process of removing encroachment on rajakaluves (storm water drains) but that’s just a lie.”
Mahesh Kashyap from Centre For Sustainable Development said that despite a ban on plastic bags, it is being used widely in the city. These plastic bags end up in being dumped at the stormwater drains and reduce the flow of rainwater. Plastic waste should be disposed of properly and it should be made sure that the plastic waste does not turn up in the drains or end up being used as landfills. Citizens concede that they are partly to be blamed for the mess.
It is our responsibility as citizens to keep our surroundings clean and make sure not to dispose of our garbage in the drains. Disposing plastic waste in the drains only leads to clogging of the drains and they overflow during heavy rainfall. The Logical Indian community appeals to civic authorities to ensure a better drainage system for the city.