Life in Bangalore: Garbage Crisis

The one thing I hate the most about living in Bangalore, India is - there is no other way to say this - the piles of shit I have to jiggy around every time I decide to walk to my destination.

The reason we live where we live (meaning our area of Bangalore, not Bangalore itself) is that everything we need - grocery stores, medical stores, other convenience stores, even my son's school, are all within walking distance. Given Bangalore's terrible traffic situation, I thought it was best this way. Unfortunately, I failed to account for the absolutely horrific amounts of garbage strewn everywhere and the piles of feces, new ones of which unfailingly appear everyday.

My son's school is literally within 500 steps of our apartment in a very busy residential/commercial locality (i.e., we don't live out in the boonies) and I'm not exaggerating when I say that we have to gingerly navigate the streets for every one of those steps for fear of our feet landing in one of those piles.

I don't know if my memory of my earlier life in Bangalore has taken on a rosy hue (granted it was more than 10 years ago) or if Bangalore was just a cleaner place then. I just don't remember seeing so much of the filth I am seeing now. Or maybe I am seeing Bangalore with new eyes. Maybe Bangalore was just as filthy then, but I was not bothered because I did not know any better.

I loathe to blame lack of infrastructure for the severe shortage of civic sense, but surely that is part of the problem. There is simply not sufficient infrastructure to support Bangalore's burgeoning population, a sizeable portion of which settles down in slums and sidewalks upon arriving into the city. Early morning ablutions and life, for that matter, have to happen in full view of the rest of the city. There is no alternative.

In a radio interview, the former Deputy-Mayor of Bangalore described the problems the administration runs into when deciding where to place garbage dumpsters. Residents and shopkeepers protest the placement of the dumpsters - "not in front of my house," "not in front of my shop," and "not on our street" are the constant refrains the administration encounters. This reminds me of the NIMBY (Not in My Back Yard) movement in the United States.

Article Author: Sujatha Bagal

Sujatha Bagal is a writer based in the Washington, D.C. suburbs. She also blogs about parenting, travel, books, movies, food and politics at Blogpourri, which she started in Bangalore to document life as an expat in that city.

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