Bengaluru’s garbage crisis is set to worsen after waste-disposal contractors warned that they could halt vehicle operations from October 26, while Opposition leader R Ashoka accused the Karnataka government of failing to resolve disputes over fuel costs, worker payments and pending bills.
Ashoka, the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, criticised Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and Minister Krishna Byre Gowda in a Facebook post cited by Prajavani. He said garbage, including decaying flowers, banana stalks and household waste, had accumulated on roads days after Ayudha Puja and Vijayadashami.
According to the report, Ashoka said residents were being forced to move through areas affected by foul odour as waste remained uncleared. He questioned the government’s claims of building a “Brand Bengaluru” while the city’s streets were facing a visible waste-management breakdown.
Ashoka also linked the crisis to an ongoing dispute between officials and contractors that he said had continued for about three months. He alleged that the government had failed to settle the issue before it escalated and criticised the reported threat of action under the Essential Services Maintenance Act against waste-disposal contractors raising operational concerns.
The contractors’ concerns, as cited in the report, include the cost of diesel, revised wages for sanitation workers, pending Employees’ Provident Fund and Employees’ State Insurance payments, and delays in clearing bills. Ashoka pointed to rates fixed in 2017, when diesel was reported to cost about ₹66 a litre, and questioned whether contractors could continue operations under the same payment structure amid higher fuel expenses.
The report also said contractors were reportedly required to visit government offices for 25 to 30 days even for the clearance of smaller bills. Ashoka argued that delays in resolving these issues had disrupted the wider waste-management system and said the government could not avoid responsibility for the resulting accumulation of garbage.
The immediate concern is the proposed suspension of vehicle operations from October 26. A stoppage would affect the movement of waste from neighbourhood collection points and could intensify accumulation on public roads, although the report does not provide details of the number of contractors, vehicles or wards involved.
Ashoka called on the government to begin immediate talks with contractors, settle pending issues and restore regular waste disposal. He said the dispute had implications for residents’ health, daily life and dignity. The report does not include a response from the state government, the Bengaluru civic administration or the contractors to Ashoka’s allegations.
