METHODOLOGY

A survey was conducted involving volunteers (students from nearby colleges) during 2010-2011 to locate unauthorized open dumps. These volunteers were trained i) to locate dumps, ii) assess the composition, iii) assess the spatial extent of dumps and iv) to mark locations using hand-held pre-calibrated GPS (Global Positioning System).  This study was mainly conducted in outskirts of the city in the buffer of 10 km.  This study was conducted in two phases: i) locations were randomly located and area was estimated visually and ii) 10% locations were physically measured and verified by expert group. 

In order to analyze the unauthorized dumping of waste in open drainage channels, a random survey in three water catchments and drainage paths in the city namely Vrishabhavathi, Hebbal, Koramangala and Challaghatta valley systems was conducted.  This was followed by the field visit  during rainy season in 2011 to check the severity of solid waste in drainage channels.  Drainage channels were monitored starting from their origin in the upper reaches within the city up to locations where they merge to form very large flow type of drainages/ sewers.  Then second survey was conducted in the selected flooding region of the city. The selected areas were Anjanapura temple, National Games Village and Cox Town.  These have been identified flood prone areas of Bangalore (Gupta and Nair, 2011).  We conducted interviews with at least three local residents in each location to find out the flood level within houses, frequency of flood and duration of flood.