‘Sorry’ mayor pays Rs 500 fine for plastic-wrap gift

Mayor Gangambike Mallikarjun has kept her word and paid a Rs 500 fine for gifting Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa a basketful of dry fruits wrapped in plastic on July 30.

The mayor, due to demit office next month, was strongly criticised by social media users and environmentalists for using plastic to wrap the gift. All kinds of plastic are banned in Karnataka. Critics slammed the mayor for failing to follow a campaign against plastic that she had herself launched.

On August 3, 2019, DH carried a news article entitled 'Mayor sorry for plastic-wrapped gift for new CM'. Gangambike said she didn't know who had plastic-wrapped the basket but conceded that it was a mistake. She, however, promised to pay the fine.

On Saturday, she deposited the fine with the health inspector of BBMP ward number 110 in the Sampangiram Nagar sub-division.

She said: "A photograph of me gifting a plastic-wrapped basket of dry fruits to Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa has gone viral on social media. I, as the first citizen of Bengaluru, am paying the fine for having used plastic. I want to set an example by following the spirit of my own campaign. In the coming days, we will be imposing a five-fold penalty on shopkeepers who continue to use plastic despite being served notices by the BBMP."