The garbage crisis, which the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) claimed to have mitigated in the last 24 hours, is likely to worsen with residents of Mandur deciding on a blockade on Monday.

Agitated by the amount of garbage being dumped at the landfill off Bangalore-Hoskote Road near Begur Cross, residents of the Mandur Gram Panchayat have decided to block the entry of all the BBMP trucks to the dumping yard.

Unattended rubbish heaps invite insects, rodents and stray animals. They do not, however, have any direct implication on people’s health, experts say.

But if flies from garbage dumps bite someone, there are chances of him/her developing ‘insect bite allergy’, Dr Maya Philip, dermatologist, Mallya Hospital, said. There is no known case of skin allergies caused by garbage. Those residing close to garbage dumps, especially in landfill areas, do suffer from insect bite allergies. Skin rashes are mainly seen among those who handle garbage with their hands,” she said.

A group of non-government organisations on Thursday blamed the Palike’s failure to segregate waste at source as the reason for garbage menace in the City.

Members of Environment Support Group (ESG), the Citizens' Action Forum (CAF), Solid Waste Management Round Table and SAAHAS, Dalit Sangharsha Samithi and Hasiru Dala at a press meet said Palike’s systemic failure in handling the City’s waste has caused the present crisis. “Much of waste from the City is rich in organic matter and can easily be converted into compost at source and used as manure for plants. Moreover, there are several organisations in the City who can provide innovative solutions to effectively handle waste,” they said.

The Supreme Court on Thursday pulled up the Karnataka government for its failure to check large-scale illegal export of iron ore from Belekeri port in Karwar district.

A three-judge Bench headed by Justice Aftab Alam also indicated that it may direct CBI probe into the illegal export of 35 lakh metric tonnes of iron ore and eight lakh metric tonnes of seized mineral from the port. The Bench directed the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) to devise ways to “segregate” the case relating to illegal export in a manner which could speed up the investigation leading to early “conviction” of those guilty within six months.

Forest minister trashes report given by IAS officer Sanaulla

Forest Minister C P Yogeeshwara on Thursday insisted that illegal quarrying was indeed taking place in Kanakapura taluk, disagreeing with the contents of the Mohammed Sanaulla report on illegal quarrying. His statement comes a day after Congress MLA D K Shivakumar made public the report submitted by the senior IAS officer, stating that there was no quarrying within the forests of Kanakapura.

Agitation for cultivators’ right to land ownership yet to reach logical end

The death of Bagair Hukum cultivator Thimmaraju at Mekerahalli in Sira taluk of the district on Wednesday has rekindled the agitation in the Bagair Hukum farmers (those cultivating land sans legal ownership). Thimmaraju had consumed poison along with three other farmers who are demanding that they be given title deeds of the land they have been cultivating for over two decades now.

The infant mortality rate (IMR) is higher in the State compared to other South Indian states, according to S Selva Kumar, State mission director of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).

For every 10 lakh children born every year in the State, nearly 35,000 die even before completing one year. This compares poorly with Kerala, which has reported 12,000 infant deaths, said Kumar. The officer said folk dance and drama were an effective means to create awareness on health among the people.

Hospitals in the district have seen a sharp rise in the number of patients getting admitted with symptoms of dengue in recent days.

People in the thousands, especially children, are showing symptoms of dengue like high fever, cough, fatigue and body pain. Sixty five of the total 149 suspected dengue cases have tested positive and all the patients are undergoing treatment. Patients, coming in hordes from Bellary, Koppal districts and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, are being made to lie on the ground at the Vijayanagar Institute of Medical Sciences (VIMS) in the city.

The High Court of Karnataka on Tuesday directed the State Forest department to file objections in a petition challenging the proposed translocation of captive elephants from Karnataka to Madhya Pradesh.

Compassion Unlimited Plus Action (CUPA), a city-based animal rights group had moved the High Court stating that the State government had identified 11 elephants for translocation to Madhya Pradesh for safari and that the dry deciduous forests of MP were not suitable for the pachyderms. The petitioner had sought a direction to restrain the government from shifting the jumbos.

A mega cement manufacturing plant and a 50 MW captive power generation unit will be set up at Burigpally and Ghanapur, in Chincholi taluk.

The decision was made after Shiva Shankar Minerals Limited approached the government on establishing a factory to produce 3.5 million metric tons of cement each year. The project currently requires an investment of Rs 2,250 crore. The proposal was made at the Global Investors Meet (GIM) and accepted by the government after receiving approval from the State High Level Clearance Committee. Phase 1 alone will require an estimated 1,050 workforce.