JOIN USGarbage bins are far and few
Garbage disposal has always been a chronic problem in the City.
With very few dustbins in public places, people end up throwing garbage at street corners or on the road, thereby messing up most of the street.
The few dustbins that are on the roads are far and wide and people are forced to
walk long distances to throw garbage.
And in such situations, the roads turn into huge dumps, which aren’t cleared at regular intervals.
Metrolife spoke to a few people in the City and asked them if the existing dustbins were enough and who was to blame for the present situation.
A lot of people say garbage bins are far and few in number and are installed at very
few places.
“The situation is really bad when it comes to garbage disposal. Just take a look around any area and you will realise it,” says Devraj P, an engineering student.
Santosh Kandgal, another student says, “There are not enough dustbins for garbage disposal. The only places where you find dustbins are bus stops, parks and eating joints.”
Many blame both authorities and people for the dirt on the roads. “Some people are uncivilised and even if you tell them, they will never drop garbage in a dustbin,” says Ramya K, a student.
So what are people expected to do in such a situation? “I carry the garbage with me and drop it off wherever I find a dustbin,” says Bheema T, a student.
But not everyone is willing to make that extra effort to keep the City clean.
“The only dustbins I find on the road are outside eating joints. If I find a dustbin, I throw the stuff there but otherwise I just drop it off at some corner consisting of garbage,” says Akshit Sharma, a professional. In his defence, Zonal
Environmental Officer, Govindaraju S E, says that the concept of dustbins is
long gone.
“The concept of having dustbins on the roads was removed in 2007. If people want to control the problem, they should keep the garbage outside their houses. The responsibility of handling garbage in commercial areas is of the people and establishments like hotels and restaurants,” he says.
But people have expectations from the authorities of course.
“Ideally, there should be a dustbin every 200 metres and more importantly, these should be kept at places that are visible to people,” says Devraj. “There should be signboards on the road indicating that there is a dustbin in the vicinity,” says Bheema. “Also the dustbins should be attractive to look at. For example, they could be in the shape of an animal so that even small children would make use of them,” he adds.