A landfill is a designated area where waste materials are disposed of, they can be buried or piled up. Illegal landfills in Doddagubbi, which is about 20 kilometers north of Bengaluru have been shut down. An abandoned quarry became a landfill and was causing a lot of damage to the lives of villagers.
Doddagubbi’s Gram Panchayat with Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagra Palike (BBMP) officials found a truck covered with debris and seized it upon further investigation. Security has been deployed there permanently.
A landfill in Bengaluru. Credit: DH
The unsegregated garbage toxicity has been causing air, and groundwater pollution, posing a threat to locals. Tons of waste containing polythene bags, heavy metal and medical waste have been spread across acres of land. A stream of pollutants flowed from the landfill into nearby water bodies, which also flows into Doddagubbi Lake. Fish in nearby lakes have died, birds and cows drink from the lake and are too in danger of not surviving. Harmful pollutants can cause damage to the water, air and land around us. Landfills in rural parts of the country, severely reduce the quality of life of those living in close proximity to it.
Bengaluru: Illegal landfill traumatises residents in Doddagubbi, finally shut downhttps://t.co/sKSKo9Jzci pic.twitter.com/s7KKEPVXvG
— TOI Bengaluru (@TOIBengaluru) May 6, 2023
The water is not safe for consumption so locals have to purchase water tanks. ACCEPT, a non profit organization formed over 20 years ago, the state of Karnataka’s largest HIV and Aids care centers nearby is also being posed a threat to, when monsoon arrives the care center is at risk of being shut down.
