Bangalore landfill causing pollution, health hazards

THE BANGALORE city corporation (Bangalore Mahanagara Palike) is dumping solid waste at Mavallipura, a village in the northern part of Bangalore, thus affecting the nearby forest areas and agricultural lands.

“Every day, since 18 months, Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike, has been dumping about 500 tonnes of solid waste in the northern zone of Bangalore,” said Dr Gayathri, Chief Health Officer, (BBMP).

The waste is dumped next to an area where crops and flowers are cultivated.

“When the city waste is generated, it’s the duty of Municipality division to segregate the organic waste, then send it to the dumping yard,” said KSV Nair, Vice President, Ramky Energy and Environment Limited.

He said that the waste in Mavallipura is disposed in a landfill. A landfill is supposed to be a place with impermeable ground strata so that ground water contamination does not occur when the contents of the landfill mix with water and seep underground.

Environment Support Group (ESG), a non-government organisation working on the water quality in Mavallipura, shows that leachate ponds (formed by impure water that 'leaches' from the landfill) contaminate the ground and surface water aquifers. These aquifers are major sources of drinking water in the village.

Moreover, the garbage, openly exposed to the air, is also polluting the environment and causing several health hazards to the villagers.

“Villagers shortly began to suffer from health problems such as diarrhea, bronchitis, cough and respiratory infections,” said Nandini, a researcher, at ESG. “The un-segregated waste decays and releases toxic sludge into their water bodies, which are used for drinking and agriculture,” she added.

But Praveen Kumar, Project Manager, Ramky Energy and Environment Limited feels that this dump does not lead to major water pollution.

The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagar Palike Health Officer said that this has been a perpetual problem, as the city does not have designated dumping grounds.