Kathmandu: Kathmanduites have been repeatedly told not to keep on throwing waste on streets and expect metropolis sweepers to clean the every nook and cranny of the Valley. Those who refuse to comply can’t escape retribution as 45 persons have been booked for throwing garbage on footpaths, streets and open spaces.The litter bugs were caught by a joint mission of police and Kathmandu Metropolitan City in the last seven days for intentionally throwing litter on streets. Police handed the arrestees to KMC officials, who later fined each of them Rs. 500 before their release. They were arrested from various places of Kathmandu, including Lainchaur, Thamel, Nayabazaar, Swoyambhu, and Basantapur. Two weeks ago, KMC and metropolitan police had launched an initiative to make the Kathmandu Valley clean by discouraging people from throwing garbage on streets. Both the authorities, a few days ago, had warned people to refrain from throwing litter on the streets other than allowed by the government.
According to police, civil police and KMC officials in civvies have been deployed in various garbage prone areas of the Capital. Authorities are more vigilant in the tourist places, cultural sites and other previously polluted areas.
The idea to punish the litter bugs was floated one year ago, but its implementation nowhere to be seen owing to multiple reasons. “The impact of our campaign is tangible. The rampant trend of throwing waste on streets has gone down,” said spokesperson of Hanumandhoka Range, DSP Dhiraj Pratap Singh. He said security personnel are disseminating information to public about their campaign through the mass media.
“For now, we have targeted the tourist areas. This campaign will be launched in all the places of the Capital. We have circulated information to all the police offices,” said Singh. Officials at the KMC’s Environment Division hope that people will slowly start dumping waste in designated places. If that happens, they say, pollution would come down to a large extent. The Solid Waste Management Act, endorsed last year, gives authorities the right to punish the people who throw waste on streets. The Act also is tough against those who disrupt garbage disposal as they can be fined between Rs. 500 and Rs 100,000 and jailed for 15 days to three months.
Source: The Himalayan Times, April 15, 2012
According to police, civil police and KMC officials in civvies have been deployed in various garbage prone areas of the Capital. Authorities are more vigilant in the tourist places, cultural sites and other previously polluted areas.
The idea to punish the litter bugs was floated one year ago, but its implementation nowhere to be seen owing to multiple reasons. “The impact of our campaign is tangible. The rampant trend of throwing waste on streets has gone down,” said spokesperson of Hanumandhoka Range, DSP Dhiraj Pratap Singh. He said security personnel are disseminating information to public about their campaign through the mass media.
“For now, we have targeted the tourist areas. This campaign will be launched in all the places of the Capital. We have circulated information to all the police offices,” said Singh. Officials at the KMC’s Environment Division hope that people will slowly start dumping waste in designated places. If that happens, they say, pollution would come down to a large extent. The Solid Waste Management Act, endorsed last year, gives authorities the right to punish the people who throw waste on streets. The Act also is tough against those who disrupt garbage disposal as they can be fined between Rs. 500 and Rs 100,000 and jailed for 15 days to three months.
Source: The Himalayan Times, April 15, 2012