Compiled by C. ARUNO, MANJIT KAUR and R. ARAVINTHAN
ALMOST 200 households in India’s southern city of Bengaluru have had their illegally dumped trash sent back to their homes, Makkal Osai reported.
The move is part of an anti-littering campaign which had become controversial.
People who were caught throwing rubbish in public places had the trash “returned” to them – right in front of their houses.
So far, 190 households have been punished in this manner. A fine was also levied along with the returned trash.
The city council said the drastic measure has been effective after previous campaigns failed to change public behaviour.
Public areas around the city where residents dumped rubbish indiscriminately have been reduced from 869 to 150 since the programme began.
Some residents have criticised the move, saying that the root cause is poor sanitation and trash collection. However, others have welcomed the programme.
Apparently, city officials have offered a small reward for those providing evidence of littering.
The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a, it denotes a separate news item.
