In yet another attempt to keep garbage off the roads which results in black spots, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is planning to set up ‘kasa (garbage) kiosks’ across 76 locations in the city. These manned kiosks would have colour coded bins for segregating waste. However, the move has drawn ire as many Solid Waste Management (SWM) activists argue that this essentially amounts to bringing back garbage bins, removed from city streets two decades ago.
In 2018, ‘Kasa kiosks’ were set up by BBMP in association with Saahas NGO as part of a pilot project. After the High Court order in 2002 which had instructed the civic body to remove garbage bins from the road, BBMP had taken up several measures to tackle the problem of black spots in the city including semi-underground bins and ‘Kasa kiosks’.
While the State government has currently approved BBMP’s proposal to set up kiosks, a work order is yet to be issued, sources said. The BBMP in the meantime had called for a tender and tied up with a private agency for the execution of the project. The project is estimated to cost approximately ₹3.5 crore, officials said.
While welcoming the move to set up more waste kiosks, citizen activists have also expressed their doubts about the maintenance of the kiosks. “The kiosk set up earlier had become a hub for rats without proper manning. Moreover, this goes against the earlier court order which had ordered removal of bins from streets and Swachh Sarvekshan campaign. The real question is who would go and hand over their waste to these kiosks?”, said V. Ramprasad, a SWM activist.
He also pointed out that the kiosks could impact segregation as most people will not bother separating dry and wet waste before bringing it to the kiosks. “They (BBMP) should have started with 15 to 20 kiosks instead of 76 at once. They could have seen if the kiosks proved to be functional and then expanded the project.”
However, Archana Tripathi, CEO of Saahas NGO said that the project was a good model and is needed for Bengaluru. “Segregation will not be diluted at the kiosks as they will be manned and waste would not be accepted without segregation. While kept only near dump sites, they would not even have to be permanent. These kiosks would give an opportunity to those who leave for work early, people who live in narrow lanes where compacters cannot go and many others to dispose off their waste effectively,” she said. “The only way the kiosks will be successful is if the regular contractors of the area pick up waste regularly,” she added.
