logo
No public-friendly markets or market-friendly waste disposal in Bengaluru

No public-friendly markets or market-friendly waste disposal in Bengaluru

The Hindu28-05-2025
Nothing beats the unbearable stench that hits you while stepping into an open vegetable market in Bengaluru. But if you somehow bypass those mountains of rotting wet waste, a labyrinthine mess of slushy pathways awaits you inside. This is nauseatingly real as monsoon has got here in full force. The time for a cleanup job was yesterday.
Trapped in the muck is a system that is critical for lakhs of Bengalureans to keep their kitchens afloat. The ugly sight repeats in markets across the city. From Banashankari Market on Kanakapura Road to the HAL Market off Old Airport Road, from Malleswaram to Madiwala, the neglect is stark. But the issues go far beyond big gaps in waste management.
Poor maintenance and infrastructural gaps have, for instance, left the once thriving HAL Market in a sorry state today. Yes, the huge wet waste pile right inside the market is symbolic of all that has gone wrong. But walk in deeper, and the full extent of the poor upkeep becomes obvious. The pathways are barely walkable, filled with slush after every rain. Beyond the busy weekends that exacerbate the chaos, the market is virtually empty on weekdays.
Haphazard waste management
Bengaluru Praja Vedike founder Mukunda N.S. says that poor waste management is the fundamental problem with the markets. 'The waste has to be cleared effectively, not in a haphazard manner,' he says. 'There should be a permanent mechanism in all the markets, where the waste is cleared every two hours. The frequency should be even higher during festival times. The waste collectors should be stationed there itself,' he elaborates.
The market waste, he says, should be transported to the processing centres through a system that is infallible. 'The BBMP is now charging a fee for Solid Waste Management from everybody, including bulk generators. Let them collect and use the money there. The waste collection and transport process should be monitored by a committee. Some checks and balances have to be devised to ensure payment only after satisfactory completion of the work.'
Trash is a big problem at the Banashankari open market, which extends on the footpath along the Kanakpura Road between two Metro Stations. The waste accumulates by the hour, but is cleared only twice a day or less. To streamline waste collection and address congestion and chaos, the Praja Vedike had suggested building an underground plaza at Banashankari Circle with space for 150 stalls and eight exits. But this proposal made to former Minister R. Ashoka was not followed up, recalls Mukunda.
Rampant use of plastic
The rampant use of plastic has emerged as a key issue with the markets. Shanthi Tummala, a founding member of the HSR Citizen's Forum and a member of the Solid Waste Management Round Table (SWMRT), says plastic was the main pain point why she stopped going to the Madiwala market. 'It has been nine years since the plastic ban came into force, in 2016. I don't understand why the markets are not getting rid of plastic. As a sustainability practitioner and motivator, I feel de-motivated and depressed,' she laments.
The solution is simple, she notes. 'All vendors should come on one page and say they will not give plastic covers. Within a week, the change will come. Most people who come to the markets are regular customers who buy vegetables for the entire week. Once they realise they don't get plastic covers, they will get their own bags. Besides, a stall should sell cloth and paper bags. Let customers spend ₹20-30, and get that bag every time.'
Pushcart vendors, Shanthi points out, save ₹3,000 per month when they don't give plastic covers. 'Imagine how much the Madiwala market vendors can save. What is required is they should all come on one page. They should make it a habit.'
Process wet waste locally
Besides, the wet waste generated should be processed locally, right inside the market premises. As she puts it, 'A strict initiative should be launched. Tax payers' money should be spent on sustainable waste management. Let them take up composting or biogas or whatever. Let them take it as a challenge and install this in one market as a pilot to start with.'
Lack of a planned, structured approach has left several open markets morph into chaotic congestion magnets. Crying out for attention are markets in Hebbal and K.R. Puram, where wholesale supply vehicles, heavy traffic and vendor outlets trigger extreme congestion. 'Located right next to the main road, the Hebbal market is very crowded. And with the flyover and Metro works in progress, the entire place is dirty, disorganised and in a big mess,' says Shabina Jinarajan, a Hebbal resident and teacher, stressing on the dire need for segregated markets with proper parking and waste clearance.
Underground market issues
An underground market – an air-conditioned one at that – opened with much fanfare in Vijayanagar, has run into problems. Modeled after New Delhi's iconic Palika Bazar, the city's Palike Bazar has reportedly been taken over by more than 25 vendors without official allotment by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). Built at a cost of ₹13 crore, the market was opened to the public in August 2024.
But nobody goes there, notes Vinay K. Sreenivasa from the Alternative Law Forum, a long-time campaigner for vendor rights and welfare. 'It is an absolute waste. The market has no proper ventilation or proper toilets. They had cut many trees to build that. Instead of the money spent on the AC structure, they could have refurbished the roadside market next to the Metro Station for about ₹50 lakh,' he contends. The old market had grown organically over the last three decades with local residents as the main customers.
Most of the Palike's built markets are now being demolished. 'They are trying to build multi-storied markets, which is not working. In Malleswaram, they demolished the flower market. It was old but could have been refurbished. It was open and had air circulation. Now, how will you sell flowers in a multi-storied building? Who will climb three floors to buy flowers? The building is now incomplete, and the vendors are on the road. They were shopkeepers before. They also demolished the market near Cox Town,' notes Vinay.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

30-member Karnataka team visits Chandigarh MC on study tour
30-member Karnataka team visits Chandigarh MC on study tour

Indian Express

time21 minutes ago

  • Indian Express

30-member Karnataka team visits Chandigarh MC on study tour

A 30-member delegation from the Town Municipal Council, Hosadurga, Karnataka, Wednesday visited the Municipal Corporation Chandigarh on an official study tour to understand the city's successful implementation of Solid Waste Management (SWM) and initiatives under the Swachh Bharat Mission. The delegation included 23 elected councillors, five nominated members, and two senior officials. They were welcomed by Amit Kumar, Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh, along with the Special Commissioner and Chief Engineer, said an MC official. During the visit, the Chandigarh team gave a comprehensive presentation on the city's sanitation model, highlighting various initiatives such as door-to-door waste collection, source segregation, waste processing techniques, Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs), and the use of digital systems for monitoring and accountability. To offer hands-on exposure, the delegation was taken to key sanitation infrastructure sites, including the solid waste management plant and MRFs, where they observed Chandigarh's Swachhata model in real-time. The visiting members expressed appreciation for the efficient and sustainable practices adopted by Chandigarh and showed keen interest in replicating several of these strategies in Hosadurga for better waste management and urban sanitation, said the MC official.

Despite surplus power, outages back in Bengaluru
Despite surplus power, outages back in Bengaluru

New Indian Express

time4 days ago

  • New Indian Express

Despite surplus power, outages back in Bengaluru

BENGALURU: While the State Government maintained there is surplus power and no power cuts, Bengalureans say otherwise. They pointed that scheduled and unscheduled power outages are back in the tech-capital. The BESCOM and the KPTCL have been issuing regular statements listing the areas for power cuts due to maintenance works. Engineers of the two departments also admitted that apart from the listed areas, power cuts happen in other areas due to sudden works to be taken up. They also admit to lack of coordination between the two departments for the power cuts. However, most parts of Bengaluru west and south-west complain of power outages on a daily basis. 'We had no power supply from 9 am to 7.30 pm on Friday. Multiple complaints were raised but there was no respite,' said Mohanlal M, a resident of Kengeri. Similar was the complaint of Nirmala K, a resident of Magadi Road. She added that power supply was intermittent on Saturday from 6 am. 'The staffers said that power supply was cut due to technical issues. But they were unable tell by when it will be restored,' she added. A senior KPTCL official, not wanting to be named, said, 'Due to increasing load on the transformers and feeders, a decision with BESCOM has been taken to switch off power supply across all 16 feeders in the city, for an hour each, in a phased manner. A schedule has been fixed for it. We get maximum complaints from consumers under Bayadarahalli feeder, which supplies power to domestic and industrial consumers in west Bengaluru, including Peenya 2nd stage. In other areas power outages are due to over loading and technical issues.'

GHMC using CCMS app to penalise sanitation violators
GHMC using CCMS app to penalise sanitation violators

The Hindu

time15-07-2025

  • The Hindu

GHMC using CCMS app to penalise sanitation violators

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation has levied penalties of more than a crore rupees for various violations pertaining to sanitation since March 1 this year. The penalties were charged through an exclusive app developed for this purpose, named Comprehensive Challan Management System (CCMS). Since March 1, more than ₹1.17 crore has been levied by way of penalties for violations such as littering of the roads, and dumping of construction debris in public spaces and water bodies. Realisation of penalties, however, is just a third of the total, at ₹39.85 lakh all put together. The CCMS app has been installed in the mobile phones of Sanitation, Solid Waste Management and the Town Planning officials who are tasked with identifying the violations in their respective purviews and uploading the same on to the app. The aim of the app is to make the process transparent, and limit manual intervention, said officials from the Sanitation wing. Hence, it is mandatory for the field staff to upload pictures of the respective violations with GPS coordinates, just like in case of traffic challans. Challans are issued online and payments are received online too. The violators are intimated about the challans through SMSes. The Assistant Medical Officers of Health and the Assistant City Planners of each circle have been authorised to generate challans. The Sanitation wing has detected a total 3,944 instances of violation so far, amounting to over ₹69 lakh in penalties. Of these, 2,535 challans were realised, earning the corporation a revenue of nearly ₹26 lakh. A total 1,409 challans are pending as on July 12, and their realisation would yield over ₹43 lakh. Maximum number of challans, at 955, were generated in Kukatpally circle, amounting to a total penal amount of approximately ₹6.21 lakh, with Uppal as second lead with 492 challans - amounting to ₹6.57 lakh. Highest in terms of the amount of penalty, however, is Moosapet circle, with ₹10.38 lakh levied by way of mere 206 challans. Next in line is Chandanagar, with over ₹7 lakh levied through 76 challans. The Town Planning wing, through ACPs, issued 537 challans, that would gross ₹48 lakh in penalties. Of these, 221 challans were realised to the tune of ₹13.95 lakh. Begumpet circle charged the highest at ₹9.75 lakh in 36 instances of C&D dumping, while Secunderabad led in terms of the number of challans at 62.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store