Mavallipura turns toxic due to waste

Bangalore:Aug 8, DHNS:

The village of Mavallipura on the outskirts of Bangalore is a not a conducive place to live.
Residents here suffer from a variety of infections, ranging from diarrhoea, skin, kidney and
heart diseases to cancer. It’s no secret what ails this place. For this the place, where the refuse
of Bangalore city ends up.
Bangaloreans may be mighty concerned about their garbage being cleared up regularly, but it is the
residents of this village who are paying a heavy price as the garbage is being thrown in illegal landfills.

A detailed study by Environmental Support Group (ESG) on the toxic effects of these landfills was released
on Wednesday. The study is the result of five years of research on this village which has been on the
receiving end of the municipal waste generated by the city since 2003.

The study says that the most alarming indicator of the high rate of toxicity is the sudden increase in the
number of cancer cases, kidney failures and heart diseases.

Says Leo Saldanha of ESG: “There is an unbearable stench in the air. The water is poisoned with high
levels of heavy metals like cadmium and mercury and unacceptable levels of bacteria. This is bound to
lead to several diseases, which will emerge over a period of time.”

Despite several protests which have occasionally turned violent, none of the authorities even seem
remotely interested in stopping this problem.

Culprit

According to ESG and the Dalit Sangharsha Samithi, the city corporation seems to be the first offender for
setting this series of miseries into action. The then BMP signed a lease with a local man Bailappa to use
his land for dumping the waste. It was later found that Bailappa never owned the land and that it belonged
to the forest department.

Undeterred, BMP then shifted to around 100 acres of gomala land nearby and signed an agreement with
Ramky Infrastructure Limited for a scientific landfill in 2004.

Locals, however, contend that there is nothing scientific about the landfill. Diseases are plenty and water
and air remains polluted. Agricultural produce in the surrounding areas contain heavy metals. Sreenivas, a
resident of the village says that they will not rest until they succeed in shifting the spot.