Seven years on, only four kasa kiosks set up near garbage dumps in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: The kasa kiosk initiative, designed and improvised as a fix for garbage blackspots, has failed to take off on a large scale despite efforts of multiple agencies for over seven years.Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Ltd (BSWML) operates only four kiosks across five city corporations — one in Koramangala and three in Banashankari. Two more in Chickpet are ready to open, said BSWML deputy general manager Bheemesh Nayak.
"We usually set up a kiosk at a spot where garbage is dumped, giving rise to a black spot. The kiosk is manned by a worker and is open for eight hours – 4 each in the morning and evening," he said, adding the timings are decided based on requirements at the specific spot. Each kiosk costs over Rs 1 lakh to set up, and additional expenses are used for maintenance. BSWML was approached by NGOs to run the kiosks under as part of their CSR initiatives. "Around 75 kiosks will be set up by BSWML using its own grants. The rest will be done by NGOs. Talks are still at the initial stages," Nayak said, adding the delay in finalising new designs and fabrication of the kiosks adversely affected scaling up of the initiative. The first kasa kiosk opened in 2018 by NGO Saahas Zero Waste on a pilot basis on Wind Tunnel Road. This was followed by another pilot project in Koramangala in 2020. "The spot near the regional passport office was a major blackspot, with waste from three wards dumped every day. This kiosk operated for three years before getting damaged in a fire accident," said Sunitha Jayaram, programme director at Saahas. Another kiosk, which opened recently after the formation of Greater Bengaluru Authority, is at the same spot, she added. What are they?Kasa kiosks were conceptualised as a measure to fill the gaps in the city's waste-collection system. Those who are unable to hand over waste to the collection vehicle can dispose it of at the kiosk. Currently, each kiosk consists of eight bins, collecting four types of waste – wet, dry, sanitary and hazardous. Each kiosk also has a fan, an exhaust fan and a mobile phone charging point.