Greater Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda inspected several areas in the city’s East Division and directed civic officials to strengthen household waste collection, sanitation and basic infrastructure maintenance, according to a report by Vijay Karnataka.
The minister visited Horamavu, Banjara Layout, Agara Lake, Jayanagar, Ramamurthy Nagar and Kasturi Nagar during an unannounced inspection. The review covered door-to-door waste collection and disposal, the work of pourakarmikas and marshals, road and footpath maintenance, stormwater drains, lakes, infrastructure projects and complaints affecting residents.
Byre Gowda instructed officials to ensure that waste is collected from every household at a scheduled time each day. He also directed officers to maintain continuous supervision of the collection and disposal system so that negligence does not affect sanitation services.
The report said several civic workers asked the minister to make their employment permanent. In response, Byre Gowda questioned the proposal and alleged that around 30% of pourakarmikas were not attending work regularly. He also said that household waste was not being collected in some areas, leaving residents to dispose of garbage on roads and contributing to foul-smelling conditions in parts of the city.
The minister was quoted as asking why workers who did not attend duty, or who did not perform their responsibilities properly, should be made permanent. The report did not include a separate response from the workers or details of attendance records supporting the stated percentage.
During the inspection, Byre Gowda also directed officials to prioritise the removal of garbage dumped in public spaces, encroachments on footpaths, construction waste and road potholes. He called for coordination among the departments responsible for these issues and asked that action be taken quickly to reduce inconvenience to the public.
Officials were further instructed to give priority to public safety and ensure that roads and footpaths remain usable without obstructions. The minister asked them to take necessary precautionary measures and improve the maintenance of civic infrastructure in the inspected areas.
The inspection comes as the Greater Bengaluru Authority’s East Division reviews sanitation, waste management and infrastructure conditions across neighbourhoods including Horamavu, Ramamurthy Nagar and Kasturi Nagar. The report did not specify deadlines for the directions or identify any enforcement action arising from the visit.
