Auto tippers loaded with garbage in Bengaluru.
Credit: DH Photo
An apartment complex in RR Nagar had to pay a penalty of Rs 15,000 for not segregating waste.
The penalty was slapped after BBMP officials found diapers and sanitary pads in the wet and dry waste containers. The civic body also lodged a police complaint as residents were found defacing public places by throwing garbage around.
When the auto tipper arrived at Nanjundeshwara Residency, located in BHEL Layout (Ward 160), to pick up waste, loaders found all types of waste dumped in the containers, unsegregated. What irked them the most was to see used diapers, pads, and sanitary napkins in these containers along with dry and wet waste.
Refusing to pick up the mixed waste, BBMP workers alerted the marshals, junior health inspectors and the engineers from the solid waste management department.
Following a brief argument between the BBMP staff and the residents, officials slapped a penalty of Rs 15,000. One of the residents, who picked up the fight initially, apologised and agreed to pay the fine. Officials said the apartment has around 25 flats.
BBMP officials said the penalty was levied as per the Solid Waste Management Rules 2016 and the BBMP Bylaws, which mandate the segregation of dry, wet and sanitary waste.
Officials also displayed a notice on the apartment block, urging the residents to segregate the waste henceforth.
Later in the day, a BBMP engineer lodged a complaint with the RR Nagar police against a resident of the apartment complex for abusing one of the marshals and not allowing him to discharge his duties.