Bangalore, Sep 21, 2017: Garbage vans are parked outside homes in Murugeshpalya’s Wind Tunnel Road. Residents are suffering from health problems every day.
Vans collect garbage from many areas of Murugeshpalya, K.R. Garden, Vinayak Nagar, Muniyellappa Garden, and park on Wind Tunnel Road. Residents say that around 15-20 autos and lorries load and unload garbage, and park it in front of the shops, houses, the school and the hospital in the area.
Jithesh, owner of Venus Bake Point in Murugeshpalya, said they are losing customers due to the smell of garbage. Garbage vans are parked right in front of his shop. All shopkeepers in the area have written to the BBMP on September 9, 2017. They say that they also visited the BBMP head office and complained but to no avail.
Dr. K Suneeth Kumar, General Physician in Murugeshpalya, said, in the last few months, every week he sees at least one patient suffering from dengue. He said that due to the garbage vans parked in the area, people are falling sick frequently and suffering from high fever. He sends patients to be admitted in the Chinmaya Mission Hospital quite frequently.
Sujata, 58, one of the residents in Murugeshpalya, said, all the senior citizens are facing a lot of issues due to the stink of garbage vans. They are not breathing fresh air, which is having an impact on their health. She falls sick once in 20 days, it is very difficult for her to live there, she says, adding that she feels helpless about the situation.
Ramesh, owner of a medical shop in Murugeshpalya, said, Caripill (Carica Papaya Leaf Extract Tablets) for dengue is the highest sold medicine. People are suffering from high fever and dengue. He says, this indicates how serious the problem has become and it’s high time that the BBMP took some action.
Radhika, teacher and school coordinator in Sophia Nursery, Primary and High School, Murugeshpalya, said, all the teachers and students cleaned the road and painted the walls a few months back but they are bad again. She says that educated people are dumping the garbage. Children are bearing the brunt of the problem because the garbage vans are right in front of the school. Approximately 30 per cent of students don’t come to school as they are suffering from fever and respiratory problems, she said. Recently they got the school disinfected. They also keep coils and mosquito repellents to protect the children, she added.
Anirban Chaudhury, Urban Planner, said, in institutional areas there is less access to garbage dumping points. BBMP should arrange to park these vans elsewhere, he said.
Pravin Kumar, Health Inspector, BBMP, said, there is no parking area available for garbage vans in Murugeshpalya BBMP ward. They are trying their best to find a location for parking the garbage vans as soon as possible, he said. He added that the public was making things more difficult by dumping garbage around the vans.
Vishwanath, Assistant Executive Engineer, BBMP, said, they were planning to fix CCTV cameras in the road to track who is dumping the garbage in vans and will be taking strict action against those people. They are also trying to identify parking for garbage vans in Murugeshpalya.
