Residents of Electronic City phase II are protesting against Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s Chikkanagamangala waste management plant. The protest is against the foul smell that comes out of the treatment plant. Residents are demanding to shut down the treatment plant.
“We get this smell all the time. It increases at night usually because theye turm the plant on in the night. We are unable to breathe because of this. We have asked the MLA to ask BBMP to shut this down or none of us are going to give vote in the LS elections,” says Sunil Patil, a resident of Chikkanagamangala.
The plant gives out strong smell that causes problem in breathing to residents around the plant. The smoke also leads to skin rashes.
“It’s very difficult to breathe. We use masks when we go out, especially during nights because the smell in unbearable then,” says Lakshmi, another resident of the area.
The plant was started in 2015 and was shut down the next year after the residents complained about the smell. The BBMP reopened the plant in 2017 and since then the residents are demanding to shut it down forever.
“The residents complain unnecessarily about it. When the wind blows there is a little smell but the residents are exaggerating and telling it. See the land here, nearby is totally barren. If the plant is demolished, the value of property will increase and the plant space can also be used to extend the private project by BBMP,” says Mamta, plant manager.
The area around the plant is a developing residential area with guarded residential communities and projects coming up.
Residents say that the MLA is promising to shut down the plant completely but they do not trust him. They want the plant to be shut before elections or they will not vote at all. The MLA of the area refused to comment on the matter.
The Solid Waste Management rules 2016 prohibits treating mixed waste and says it is mandatory to segregate the waste before processing.
