Karnataka DyCM DK Shivakumar disappointed after surprise visit to waste treatment plants

Karnataka’s Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar paid a surprise visit to the waste treatment plants on Sunday and inspected the plant’s regular working methods. He visited three plants and was disappointed in the entities who had promised to generate resources from the garbage had failed. He even scolded civic authorities for doing nothing about waste management. 

During his visit to the Seegehalli plant, he ordered that it should be restarted, despite the huge protests from the nearby school students regarding the plant. The Seegehalli plant is of 120-tonne capacity and was non-operational for the past four years due to local protests.

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He then visited the Kannahalli plant, for which he complained that the waste processing was not up to the mark. He inspected the logbooks and the weighing machinery to tally the numbers recorded. 

Speaking with the media, he said, "The solid waste management issue in Bengaluru needs to be solved immediately. I’ve ordered the officials to come up with solutions which can put an end to this problem. I will keep visiting the plants."

The BBMP has seven waste processing plants currently, but due to the local protests, Subbarayanapalya, Lingadheeranahalli, KCDC, Kannahalli and Seegehalli are not actively processing the waste. 

At the end of the fiscal year 2022, there are currently over 1 crore vehicles registered in the city. Each and every day, one or the other vehicles or any solid waste go to being dead. If the number of dead vehicles keeps on increasing, it is necessary for these plants to process them. The Chikkanagamangala plant receives around 275 tonnes of solid waste, while the remaining goes to landfills. 

Bengaluru was one of the lowest scorers in the National Cleanliness survey in the last year. It needs to invest more in waste processing units. In the recent budget proposed by Siddaramaiah, Bengaluru has been allotted Rs 30,000 crore. 

DKS visits Indira Canteen

The Deputy CM then visited two Indira canteens and checked the quality of food being supplied. He received allegations from the customers that they are being charged Rs 10 for breakfast wherein the allotted price was Rs 5. The government helpline was non-functional when he tried to complain through the helpline.

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CM Siddaramaiah had ordered the authorities to re-open Indira canteens everywhere. It was agreed that the BBMP and government will be sharing 50% of the costs. For the canteens outside of Bengaluru, the government will cover 70% of expenses and the remaining 30 is the responsibility of the local municipality. 

Officials have been instructed to open new canteens in the potential locations across the state, Siddaramaiah had told earlier.

• D K Shivakumar
• Bengaluru
• Waste management
• Karnataka