Cleaning becomes a tough task

Cleaning becomes a tough task

Staff Reporter

People should keep the cracker-waste in a plastic bag, says BBMP official

— Photo: K.Gopinathan

Who will clean this? Empty cracker boxes littered on a road in Bangalore on Wednesday.

Bangalore: Although there has been a reduction in sale of crackers this Deepavali, the task of those sweeping the public roads has not changed with most Bangaloreans leaving the roads littered with pieces of paper.

According to Health Department officials of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), leaving the cracker-waste on the road amounted to littering of public place as per the law but it would be difficult to penalise the residents.

“Environmental pollution can be checked to some extent if the residents collect the waste from in front of their house soon after burning the crackers. Residents need to store the waste in a plastic bag so that it can be picked up by the door-to-door garbage collectors,” said a senior BBMP official. The official pointed out that whether sale of crackers was reduced or not, the attitude of people with regard to keeping the surroundings clean had not changed.

The official agreed that garbage clearance in some parts of the city had been affected because of negligence of contractors in ensuring that those employed by them turned up for the duty. Even the material like flowers, plantain leaves and other decorative items used for puja were found scattered on the roadside.