BBMP collects close to 8L in littering penalties

Caught in the act: Of the 4,466 offenders, 3,127 were on two-wheelers

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has collected Rs 7,85,450 in littering penalties from the city between October 2018 and January 2019.

This is perhaps the first time that the BBMP has collected such a huge sum in littering fines.

In a span of over two months, the BBMP officials in collaboration with the marshals caught at least 4,466 people across eight zones red-handed, for dumping waste materials in public.

A total of 1,876 people, offenders including those who rode to litter on two-wheelers, four-wheelers and light motor vehicles, have been penalised since October 25, 2018 until January 4, 2019.

Surprisingly, according to the data collated by the marshals and the BBMP officials, most offenders are two-wheeler users. The marshals so far have caught 3,127 people who had come on two-wheelers to throw garbage in public places.

“Most of the offenders are caught from Kumaraswamy Layout, near KR Market, Hegde Nagar followed by other areas. The restaurants and hotels are major contributors as well,” said Captain Rajbir Singh, chief marshal officer.

Bangalore South tops the list with most number of people fined, while Yelahanka is the zone from where the highest amount was collected in penalties with Rs 1,61,400 so far.

“We will be continuing this exercise and will strengthen it further,” said Sarfaraz Khan, joint commissioner, health and solid waste management, BBMP.

Shortage of hands

Meanwhile, Captain Rajbir Singh also said there is in fact an acute shortage of hands for deployment as marshals at both Indira Canteens and also to nab offenders. “There are 198 wards and we would need at least one person or marshal to monitor each ward. Now, there are just 80 of them, who do both, and it is difficult to cover such a vast area,” said Singh.