BENGALURU: Meridian Medical Centre
in Frazer Town was recently charged with dumping biomedical waste in
Avalahalli Lake at JP Nagar 6th Phase. Injection bottles, blood and
urine samples and blood-stained gloves were found in the waste. Bills
from the centre found in the waste did the centre in and Bruhat
Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike fined it Rs 1 lakh.

Meridian denied the charges saying it gives its waste to a centre in HRBR Layout.

Whoever is at fault, the case is, in fact, a pointer to the larger issue.

It is not unusual to find hazardous medical waste mixed with common
solid waste in the city. One of the reasons for it could be the
inadequate number of medical waste treatment plants in the city.

There are 1,484 healthcare facilities in Bengaluru, according to the
Fire Department. But there are only three biomedical waste treatment
plants in the city – Medicare Environmental Management Pvt Ltd, Maridi
Eco Industries and Anu Autoclave. The plants can hardly cope with the
quantum of waste.

Karnataka generates 54 tonnes of biomedical waste per day from 26,724
healthcare establishments with a total of 1.71 lakh beds. But there are
only 25 biomedical waste treatment plants in the state. The silver
lining is that five more are in the pipeline. The treatment plants
charge hospitals on per-bed basis.

According to Biomedical Waste Management Rules 2016, all clinical
establishments like hospitals, nursing homes, blood banks, clinics,
veterinary centres, pathological laboratories, research and educational
institutions, first aid rooms of schools and forensic and research
laboratories are required to abide by the rules.