BENGALURU: Over the past few weeks, instances of fire in the illegal garbage dump near the rejuvenated Kundalahalli Lake in Whitefield , have increased, prompting locals to contact the fire department thrice during the period.“In the last month, there have been regular fires at the dump. On investigating, officials from the fire department said ragpickers, who live in huts on the site, have been burning the garbage. As they plan to leave the place soon, they are not bothered and are just setting fire to all the garbage piled up in the area,” said Akhilesh Mishra of Kundalahalli Pathway, a citizen group.The dump came up about 8-10 years ago on a 15-20 acre land next to the lake. While, initially, it mainly consisted of construction waste and debris, the dump began receiving domestic, hospital and office waste on a regular basis.“I’ve been working in an office right next to the site for 20 years. In the last decade, we would play cricket here. Now, the garbage dump has grown to the size of a multi-storey building,” said Mishra.Last December, on installing two CCTV cameras near the site, Akhilesh caught a few vehicles dumping waste there. Armed with the footage, he filed an FIR at Whitefield police station, but the case is yet to move forward.Pointing to the adverse impact the garbage mound could have on the lake, Gilbert Millicent Nathan, who works in a tech company near the water body, said: “In the event of a landslide, large parts of the mound will just slide into the lake, shrinking the lake area significantly and polluting it beyond restoration.”“This garbage is not being brought here by us, but by local contractors who pick up waste from nearby commercial establishments. We have sent several notices to the owners of this plot, but they have not replied, claiming the plot is under litigation. However, we have thoroughly checked our records and will be filing a criminal case against the owners, who are also taking rent from the ragpickers living on the site,” said a BBMP solid waste management official.

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