The BCC ( Belagavi City Cooperation) and other local authorities in Belagavi district, including district municipal cooperation and town panchayat in Karnataka are facing a significant and major growing challenge in managing the toxic e-waste [ electronic waste].
The district is rapidly growing due to it’s industrial and commercial activities. With the educational and industrial environment , e-waste is generating in a large amount. However, the lack of a separate system for collecting e-waste is is a major obstacle in the 58 wards of BCC.
Grappling with the problem, hundreds of tons of e-waste are generated monthly in it’s jurisdiction, but the lack of dedicated disposal facilities in line with guidelines has left the local bodies and authorities with severe problem and chaos .
It has become a serious challenge for the local bodies waste disposal units. The lack of an adequate collection system and a specific location to dispose of such e-waste has become a major problem for the local body management.
In most of the places, there is no bins or containers for the collection of waste in the city, where the major portion of the waste can be collected like hospitals, shopping malls, government offices or significant mobile spare parts stores and electrical repair shops are located. or or any separate vehicles for disposing such hazardous e-waste. So, in most of the places across the district, the vehicals deployed for the collection of daily garbage have to take the e-waste as dry waste. It is common for electronic and electrical waste to be found dumped on the outskirts of the urban towns.
This issue is prevalent for the areas under the jurisdiction of Kakati, Kangrali, Honaga, Gokaka, Kanabaragi, Auto Nagar, Kittur, Kanagala, Anagol, Bailahongala, Chikkodi, Ramadurga, Athani, Boragaon in Belagavi which are considered to be as commercial and industrial hub districts which are growing rapidly.
This has led to concerns that electronic waste is entering the environment without proper disciples and disposal. E- waste disposal is not being done systematically in the local bodies of the district, including the Belgaum district headquarters.
Consequently, the wastes can be seen and found scattered everywhere on the roadside, pothohole, drain exacerbating pollution and health risks.