Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited (BSWML) Managing Director Maheshwara Rao has assured contractors that issues will be resolved through discussions, leading them to withdraw their strike until Thursday. S.N. Balasubramaniam, General Secretary of the Bengaluru Mahanagara Swachhata and Lorry Owners-Contractors Association, confirmed that waste collection and disposal from homes will resume on Tuesday. Rao, who also serves as the Chief Commissioner of the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), stated that a meeting with contractors will be organized on October 29 in the presence of Greater Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byregowda.
Legislative Assembly Opposition Leader R. Ashok criticized the state government, questioning why Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and Minister Krishna Byregowda remain unaware of the city’s deteriorating condition despite media reports. He noted that although days have passed since the Ayudha Puja and Vijayadashami festivals, streets are still piled with rotting flowers, banana stems, and household waste, forcing residents to cover their noses due to the stench. Ashok challenged the government’s claim of building a ‘Brand Bengaluru,’ asking if they are even capable of clearing the garbage mountains on the capital’s roads.
Sharing a Prajavani article dated October 26 titled ‘Waste disposal problem intensifies in several places’ on social media, Ashok accused the Congress government of being intoxicated by empty propaganda while Bengaluru drowns in garbage. He pointed out that the crisis stems from a three-month conflict between officials and contractors that the government failed to resolve. Ashok questioned how contractors can sustain operations at rates fixed in 2017 when diesel was ₹66 per litre, given current fuel costs, pending worker wage revisions, and outstanding EPF and ESIC payments. He argued that instead of addressing these issues, the government is intimidating contractors to mask its administrative failure.
