By Melvin Durai
My house sits beside a fairly busy road, which means that I occasionally have to pick up litter from my yard. It usually comes from passing motorists who think it’s okay to throw fast-food wrappers and other trash out of their windows. I wish I could record them on video, go to their homes and return their trash to them. “I think this belongs to you,” I’d say. “It came from your car. Is there any reward for returning it?” At a minimum, I’d want these litter bugs to be fined or at least be forced to pick up trash around town. But they always get away with their misdeeds, mostly because it’s hard to catch them in the act. It’s just not worth the trouble for me to install cameras, review the video and try to spot the license plates of the perpetrators. Even if I gathered some incriminating evidence, I don’t think my local police department would take it too seriously. They’re too busy dealing with crimes such as robberies, assaults, and illegal U-turns. Littering is certainly not a major crime, but it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that some of the people who toss litter out of their cars also dump large amounts of garbage in the forest and other places they shouldn’t. That’s why I’m happy to hear about the initiatives undertaken by the Greater Bangalore Authority to keep the city cleaner.
According to an NDTV report, the GBA has launched a “Garbage Dumping Festival,” warning residents that if they dump garbage into the streets, the garbage will be dumped right back onto their doorsteps. “To create awareness, this is a sort of a return gift,” said Kari Gowda, CEO of the Bangalore Solid Waste Management Company Limited (BSWML). Just picture a BSWML worker knocking on a door after dumping a pile of garbage on a doorstep. Resident: “Excuse me, what is this doing here?” Worker: “It’s a return gift.” Resident: “A return gift?” Worker: “Yes, we are returning the gift that you gave to the city. We appreciate your generosity, but we just can’t accept it. Even on our birthday, we can’t take such gifts.” Resident: “What will I do with it?” Worker: “Give it to your in-laws.” Resident: “But I like them.” Worker: “And you don’t like the city?” In addition to returning garbage to people who dump, the city is imposing a Rs 2,000 fine, even for first offenses. The city previously levied a Rs 500 fine for first offenses, Rs 1,000 for second offenses and Rs 2,000 for third offenses, but the fines will no longer be staggered. Some people on social media have called it “bizarre” to return garbage to residents, but Gowda told NDTV: “This is not a bizarre activity. We have our workers going to each house, educating people to segregate waste. We are creating awareness on social media and also requesting people not to throw garbage on the road.” You may be wondering how the GBA is going to catch offenders. Well, the GBA will rely on any video recordings, including videos taken by ordinary citizens. To that end, the GBA is offering Rs 250 to anyone who records and shares videos of people dumping garbage. If you’re visiting a friend in Bangalore and happen to record the friend throwing garbage in the street, you may ask yourself if it’s worth exposing your friend for Rs 250? No, it’s not. But you may want to assume the role of a BSWML worker and give your friend a return gift.
