Bio-mining drive at Sewage Farm in Vidyaranyapuram set for June completion; most of 6-lakh tonnes waste cleared

Mysore/Mysuru: Works to clear legacy waste at Sewage Farm (Solid Waste Management Unit or Excel Plant) in Vidyaranyapuram are nearing completion, with most of the six lakh tonnes of accumulated municipal solid waste already removed.

The untreated waste, dumped at the site for nearly three decades, had grown into a hill-like mound and become a major political issue.

Following mounting pressure, the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) engaged Surat-based D.H. Patel Company in March 2024 to remove the waste through bio-remediation (bio-mining), initially setting a deadline of January this year.

The work was delayed due to rain and other natural hurdles, but is now expected to be completed by June.

The waste had been divided into six blocks at the start of the project. Clearance began with the block containing the least waste and has now reached the final block, with efforts intensified to meet the revised deadline, which is four months away.

Initial phase challenges

In the early stage, the target was to clear one tonne of waste per day, which was later scaled up significantly. However, monsoon season posed a major setback, worsened by overflowing sewage from adjacent treatment plant that caused water stagnation and hampered excavation work.

Two large machines are currently deployed to segregate plastic, soil, compostable material and other waste during work shifts of up to 10 hours.

Segregated plastic is being sent to cement manufacturing units in Kalaburagi and other locations, compostable material is processed accordingly, and recovered soil is reused for landfilling, demonstrating effective waste reuse.

BPCL CNG plant planned

According to MCC Environment Section Assistant Executive Engineer Mohan Gowda, the sixth and seventh waste blocks have been fully cleared, freeing nearly seven acres of land for a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) unit to be set up by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited.

MCC has signed a 15-year Memorandum of Understanding with BPCL and will supply 150 tonnes of wet waste daily for CNG production.

Once operational, the CNG will be provided to MCC vehicles at subsidised rates, potentially saving the civic body Rs. 2 crore to Rs. 3 crore that was previously spent each year on disposing of the same quantity of wet waste, Mohan Gowda said.

Set up in 1996

The Excel Treatment Plant was set up under the JnNURM Project in 1996 and solid waste is treated to produce compost. However, tonnes of garbage go untreated. Residents said that the animal carcasses and other waste from slaughter houses were dumped directly into the plant, leading to unbearable stench.

The untreated legacy waste accumulating at the plant had sparked widespread resentment among the residents of J.P. Nagar, Kanakagiri, Gundu Rao Nagar, Vidyaranyapuram and Vishweshwaranagar, who had complained not only of foul smell, but also a threat to their health and well-being.

After a series of protests and public campaigns, the daily waste was shifted to locations like Kesare and Rayanakere for processing. The District Administration decided in January 2020 to go ahead with a Bioremediation (Bio-mining) project to clear the legacy waste.