A garbage crisis has left roads around the Shiradi Saibaba Temple near Sonnenahalli in Bengaluru’s Rajarajeshwari Nagar lined with mixed waste, foul-smelling refuse and animal remains, according to a report by Prajavani published on October 17.
The affected roads are located in a Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) layout. The report said heaps of wet and dry waste have accumulated across the area, including refuse allegedly brought from hospitals, apartment complexes, hotels and commercial establishments. Residents said the condition has made several roads difficult for the public to use.
Waste dumped in the area includes bags of household refuse, chicken and livestock waste, intestines, bones, spoiled meat, rotten fruits and vegetables, cooked food and other decomposing material. Stray dogs and cattle gather around the piles, while residents have reported mosquito and fly infestations. They also said the smell becomes particularly difficult to tolerate when wind carries the odour through surrounding neighbourhoods.
Residents Kavitha, Rajanna and Lakshmidevi told Prajavani that people in the BDA layout, Sonnenahalli and Doddabasti areas were suffering from cough, fever and asthma and were spending thousands of rupees on treatment at private hospitals. These health complaints were reported by residents and were not independently verified in the supplied material.
Residents also alleged that waste collected from homes, high-rise buildings and hotels was being dumped at the location at night. They said autorickshaws and trucks were bringing construction debris, wet waste and meat waste to the area. Some residents further alleged that such dumping could not continue without the support of officials. The report did not cite an official confirmation of these allegations.
The issue has exposed a responsibility and funding dispute between the two public agencies. Residents said the BDA continues to collect taxes from people living in its layouts, while the Greater Bengaluru Authority’s solid-waste management department is expected to collect and manage the waste. According to Siddarajegowda, deputy manager of the GBA solid-waste department, the BDA has not released funds to the GBA for waste collection in the layout.
Siddarajegowda said the GBA had written to the BDA about the matter but that no action had been taken. The statement places the immediate waste-management failure within a wider administrative gap: residents are living in a BDA-developed area, while day-to-day waste collection is expected to be handled by the city authority.
The report did not provide details of the quantity of accumulated waste, the duration of the problem, the number of households affected or any confirmed enforcement action against establishments or vehicles allegedly dumping refuse. It also did not state whether the BDA or GBA had announced a clearance schedule. The next steps therefore depend on the two agencies resolving the funding and operational responsibility dispute and restoring regular collection in the affected neighbourhoods.
