Greater Bengaluru Authority launches garbage dumping festival

Bengaluru, Oct 30 (PTI) The Greater Bengaluru Authority on Thursday launched the 'Garbage Dumping Festival' in which the civic workers deliberately dumped garbage in front of 218 households and collected Rs 2.8 lakh fine.

The civic authorities decided to teach a lesson to those families, which are indulged in dumping waste in public and not giving it to the garbage collectors.

"Through an innovative awareness initiative titled ‘Garbage Dumping Festival’, waste was deliberately dumped in front of 218 households, and fines amounting to Rs 2.8 lakh were collected," Kare Gowda, Chief Executive Officer of Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited (BSWML), said in a statement.

Although waste is collected from every household across all five city corporations under the Greater Bengaluru Authority by auto-tippers every morning, some residents continue to dump garbage on roadsides, footpaths, and vacant sites, he said.

"To curb this behavior and maintain urban cleanliness, BSWML has launched this unique awareness campaign, wherein waste is dumped in front of houses of those found littering public spaces, to help residents realise the inconvenience caused when waste is discarded irresponsibly," Gowda said.

He noted that some people avoid handing over garbage to auto-tippers and instead dump it late at night on roads or empty plots. To sensitise such individuals, waste was intentionally placed in front of their houses.

"Accordingly, in front of 218 such households, waste was dumped today and the fine was collected. The waste was later cleared. Citizens are urged to cooperate in keeping Bengaluru clean and hygienic by segregating wet and dry waste and handing it over to auto-tippers during collection," the CEO of BSWML said.

He also asked people to give segregated waste to the auto-tippers at designated collection times.

Gowda said 65 waste kiosks are planned to be installed across Bengaluru to curb roadside garbage dumping.

These kiosks will contribute significantly to building a ‘Swacch Bengaluru’, he said, adding one such kiosk has already been inaugurated in the BTM Layout and has received positive public response.

The CEO was optimistic that the waste kiosk system will help eliminate black spots, control foul odors, and address related issues.

Each kiosk will have four collection bins with a capacity of 100 liters each. People can drop off their segregated waste at these kiosks free of charge during designated hours, he explained.

He also asked residents to send a message with a photograph of the issue to register a complaint via WhatsApp at 94481 97197.

The officials will take action within a stipulated time to ensure proper waste clearance and resolution, Gowda said. PTI GMS GMS KH