Debris scheme, a godsend for Vibhuthipura

By Rasheed Kappan

BANGALORE, OCT. 13. For the harried residents on the periphery of the hazardous Vibuthipura quarry pit near HAL, the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike's (BMP) Debris Management Scheme and a local landlord's own initiative seems like a godsend. The filling up of the pit by truck loads of debris has been painfully slow, but it means an eventual respite from a dangerous cesspool, which has so far claimed over 15 lives.

Quarrying on the site was abandoned over a decade ago. Unplanned development led to the mushrooming of slums and residential blocks around the huge pit, which by then looked like a beautiful artificial lake of rainwater and drainage. But the looks deceived. Those who ventured into its stagnant waters were sucked in, the swampy slush giving them no chance to swim to safety. Those who fell by accident met with the same fate.

The dangers are still potent. With no fences, the residents around are precariously perched on its periphery. The stagnant waters have become a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Fishing by some over-enthusiastic youth is fraught with health hazards to consumers. A portion of the pit has now been filled with debris. But it would take at least another 10 years to fill up the entire pit, says Mr. Ajith, a resident of the adjacent Jagdishnagar.

For years, the residents of Jyothinagar, Jagdishnagar, and Reddypalya were victims of the repulsive mix of stench and mosquito menace. Some of them were even guilty of worsening the scene, by diverting their domestic drainage into the pit. ``Sometime ago, we stopped some trucks from dumping garbage here,'' recalled Mr. Ajith. The arrival of debris made a difference, but not fully.

The local landlord, Mr. Kashappa, had another story to tell. ``The BMP had promised much, the State Government officials came visiting about three months ago,'' he told The Hindu. ``But I paid for the trucks, got bulldozers to push the debris into the pit. I have so far spent about Rs. 50,000.'' On its part, the BMP had boards set up all around, directing the lorries to the dumping site.

In all, nine sites were notified for dumping debris on the City's outskirts to complement the Comprehensive Debris Management Scheme launched by the BMP. These sites, most of which were abandoned quarry pits such as the one at Vibuthipura, are now being developed as full-scale dumping sites, complete with fencing, watchmen, and other facilities, the BMP Commissioner, Mr. Ashok Dalwai, told The Hindu.

The sites will be equipped with weighing machines to facilitate weight-based payment of debris. The other notified sites include areas such as B.Narayanapura, Hennur-Banaswadi, Vibuthipura, Seegehalli, and off Hesarghatta Road.

Once the sites are totally filled, Mr. Dalwai said they could be converted into parks, playgrounds or even shopping complexes depending on the area's local needs. He has urged residents and builders to dump construction debris and other material at these notified sites and not litter the streets. This would go a long way in boosting Bangalore's beautification drive, he said.

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