Water logging leads to flies and other unhealthy conditions.
Vendors in Krishna Rajendra (KR) Market throw their flowers, vegetables, and fruits waste on roads and roadside leading to huge dumps of garbage which smells and increases the risk of diseases.
Shiva, a flower vendor at KR Market said, “The vegetable waste is never cleared which results in the huge heaps where cows come to graze, and this causes trouble as these cows come near our stalls as well to graze.”
He added that his stall is close to the heap where everyone dumps the garbage. Hence some customers avoid his stall and others come to complain about the stink.
KR Market’s Merchants’ Association president GM Divakar said, “The waste not cleaned properly invites cows and problems. This problem is more during festivals as at that time lots of waste is generated as the whole market is crowded. During festivals, the waste is not picked up for two days.”
The Solid Waste Management bye-laws(March 2020) states that litter bins will be put up outside marketplaces for proper disposal of waste.
Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagra Palike (BBMP) is responsible for the waste management of the K.R. Market.
Prakash, fruit vendor at KR Market said, “BBMP comes to pick up the waste and so it is comparatively clean during normal days. The garbage van doesn’t come to collect garbage during festival season. It is more needed owing to the crowd during this time.”
BBMP’s Public Relations Office (PRO) said, “Bio-degradable and non-bio-degradable are collected separately and those who don’t follow this have to pay penalties. The garbage disposal vans go to collect the waste twice a day.”
Dr.Sanjay G Kote, a general physician said, “The roadside vegetable waste rots and produces greenhouse gases which are more harmful than carbon dioxide to humans. It may lead to breathing problems and may also develop asthma. Human immune system is also affected by this and they are more prone to falling ill.” He added that it leads to water logging and breeding of flies which spread foodborne infections in humans.
Both the administration and public should work in coordination.
People should also realise their responsibility and not just blame the authorities.
Excellent