If BMRCL keeps medians clean, people will stay away from dumping garbage: N Kumar
I don’t think people want to deliberately deface the Metro medians. They just dump garbage wherever they find some empty space as nobody cares to take action against them. Even if hoteliers are caught dumping their waste where they are not supposed to, they manage to pay off the policemen or officers of the food and civil supplies department concerned.
As for random cows found wandering on the streets, this is a country –wide problem caused by the fact that cow shelters belonging to local muscle-men are backed by politicians. The BBMP will not do anything about it because the owners of the shelters have political connections. The civic agency is squarely to blame here as it has failed to take stringent action against the shelters letting the cows out or even keep a tab on them.
The problem can be solved by the ward committees, which have become a reality after people fought for them in the High Court. The BBMP has been ordered by the court to ensure micro management of waste in every ward, which has to sit down and work out a modality for garbage disposal and solid waste management by November 30. The modality has to include a sewage treatment plant in every ward. Once this is implemented, the BBMP has to submit a report on what has been achieved to the court on December 8.
As for construction debris or large furniture being dumped on the Metro medians, the BBMP has to realize that all kinds of waste, dry or wet, big or small fall under Solid Waste Management. How can it not have a mechanism for their disposal? Why can’t we shift an old sofa or broken cot to an appropriate place? Civic agencies and ward committees cannot wash their hands off this. The BMRCL can put pressure on the BBMP saying, “don’t mess our property."
Also, it must utilise the free median space for greenery, or it will become an invitation for people to dirty it some more. This is called the ‘broken window concept.’ If the BMRCL keeps the medians squeaky clean, there is a good chance that people will resist dumping on Metro property. The government is good at announcing projects like painting of Metro pillars, but has a hard time implementing them.
