Bengaluru, March 24 (IANS) Leader of the Opposition and senior BJP leader, R. Ashoka, on Tuesday launched a sharp attack on the government in Karnataka, alleging a complete collapse of civic administration amid the ongoing garbage crisis in Bengaluru.

In a strongly worded statement, Ashoka said the situation reflects the “utter failure” of the state government, holding Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar directly responsible.

He alleged that basic governance has broken down under their leadership, pointing to delays in salary payments to sanitation workers and the filing of FIRs against contractors. “When sanitation workers go unpaid for months and contractors are threatened instead of being heard, chaos is inevitable,” he said.

Criticising the government’s flagship “guarantee” schemes, Ashoka remarked that the administration has failed to ensure even basic wage payments for those responsible for maintaining the city’s cleanliness.

He further alleged that residents of Bengaluru are bearing the brunt of what he termed as “Congress mismanagement,” citing garbage accumulation on streets, lack of policy clarity, and poor coordination between civic agencies such as the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) and Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Ltd (BSWML).

According to Ashoka, instead of addressing the crisis, the government has been focussing on forming new committees and creating additional administrative posts. He questioned the leadership over the reasons for delayed payments to sanitation workers, alleged intimidation of contractors through police action, and the factors that led to the current garbage crisis.

It may be noted that disruption in waste management across the city led to suspension of garbage collection in at least 50 wards on Monday. The situation arose after auto tipper drivers and loaders went on a mass leave in protest against pending wages and new rules related to waste segregation.

The Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited (BSWML) has been insisting that waste must be segregated at source, a move opposed by contractors. They argue that the responsibility of segregating waste lies with the waste generators, not with those involved in its collection.

BSWML CEO, Karee Gowda, stated that the issue was limited to around 40–50 wards and that garbage collection in the rest of the city continued as usual. He also clarified that steps have been initiated to clear salary dues pending for the past four months.

Meanwhile, 35 FIRs have been registered under the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) against contractors who failed to carry out waste collection. The contractors’ association has expressed strong opposition to the new rules. BBMP Garbage Contractors’ Association President S.N. Balasubramanian reiterated that waste segregation is the responsibility of those who generate the waste.

–IANS

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