DSS activists M Ramesh of Ramagondanahalli (in grey T-shirt) and Srinivas of Mavallipura (first from right) tell they will not let a single garbage-laden truck enter the landfill.
Hope floats in Mandur
“Yes, we are hopeful that the Chief Minister will stick to his word and we will see the end of it on November 30.”
If “Hope is a waking dream”, we saw it come alive in all its vibrant hues when V Srinivas and Mukund Rao of Mandur spoke at length on how earnestly they are hoping for an end to the agony that’s simply beyond human endurance.
V Srinivas of Mandur is brimming with hope that dumping will stop on November 30.
It’s hard to fathom what keeps this hope alive in the first place. Unbearable stink, swarm of flies and mosquitoes, packs of ferocious dogs scattered all over the landfill and the surrounding areas, severely damaged water sources and polluted air… their litany of woes is endless. To top it all, the hollow promises doled out by successive governments. Still, hope refuses to taper off!
But what if the CM backtracks? “Then we will protest,” adds Mukund Rao. “We are ready.”
Anger reigns Mavallipura
On the contrary, Mavallipura is on the edge and all set to erupt in protest against the reopening of the erstwhile Ramky SWM Landfill to ‘compost’ wet waste.
“All this talk of letting in only 300 tonnes of waste is an outright lie. We have seen 250 trucks lining up to unload the garbage before we had the landfill shut down in 2012,” says DSS activist from Ramagondanahalli M Ramesh.
Srinivas, the DSS activist who led the protests, says: “If they say it will all be processed in a scientific manner, then why not shift this plant to Palace Grounds and start composting there? Why should it be either Mandur or Mavallipura?”
“I will chop off their ears and nose if one truck enters the village,” says Hanumathappa whose livestock has been reduced to 10 from 60. The polluted water has been systematically decimating the livestock and they simply don’t know where to go. This is what our trip to both landfills revealed and a lot more last Sunday.
A word of caution to Bangaloreans: If they have their way, we will soon start wallowing in our own garbage.
ENDLESSLY GREEN 
‘Srinivas, the DSS activist who led the protests, says: “If they say it will all be processed in a scientific manner, then why not shift this plant to Palace Grounds and start composting there? Why should it be either Mandur or Mavallipura?”’
Eminently reasonable. Why not start composting indeed? Profitable, employment generating and green-friendly.
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But this method of composting is an issue in itself. This method is called Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) which I wrote about in a previous article: https://savitahiremath.com/2014/10/09/visit-to-mavallipura-reveals-a-new-horrifying-chapter-in-composting/
They say they separate wet waste from all the mixed waste and try composting it (this is anything but compost as it is dripping with hazardous leachate). In fact, this ‘composting process’ and these machines are just a facade. What actually happens there is landfilling. The villagers know very well that no composting happens and all the waste gets dumped in the landfill. That’s why Srinivas is challenging the government to compost it in Palace Grounds if they are so sure of doing it scientifically.
Before Mavallipura landfill was shut down, the govt said only a few hundred tonnes will be sent here. But the villagers have seen 100s of trucks going in (each weighing a minimum of a tonne).
IMO, it’s not the garbage that’s a tragedy. It’s the authorities, the people. Landfills are not a solution to the urban waste problem. The authorities who know that very well but are least interested in working towards sustainable solutions.
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As I had said earlier let the Vidhan Soudha and the residences of the ministers shift to Mandur or to Mavallipura only then will they know the plight of people on whom this agony is dumped. Else as Srinivas says let them process the waste in palace grounds. They simply want to dump it on someone else’s head and live peacefully themselves.
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