The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) authorities on Wednesday fined a shop owner Rs 1 lakh for dumping waste on Varthur lakebed. Givin a strong message to those who pollute water bodies, the BBMP has taken some strict decisions to teach them a lesson.
A Heavy penalty for littering near lakes
A chicken shop owner named Rafeeq Ahmed was penalized for violating the civic body rules. His shop is located near the Canara Bank branch close to Vathur lake and the BBMP authorities have caught one of the staff dumping chicken waste near the lake.
“When I was away from the shop for a while, one of the boys was caught dumping chicken waste near the lake by deputies. When they tracked them back to my store and told me about the fine, I was shocked,” Ahmed said.
The BBMP informed that it attached the high amount not just for illegal dumping of the waste but also to the location where it was dropped. It also said that it’s the responsibility of the waste generator to make sure it is dumped properly.
BBMP has notified a meat waste collection tender for each zone and fixed charges for vendors to lift and drop it at rendering plants in and around the city.
Waste management is a must
Ahmed said that he had opened the shop just a week ago and his employees were not informed of the dumping customs.
He said that he was in talks with a vendor for waste dumping and before that the civic body had punished him. He told that he had raised a Rs 1.5 lakh loan to open the shop and had no resources to pay the fine now.
“I am a Vathur resident too and would never do such things. I am worried about paying the fine with the chicken sale yet to pick up.,” he said.
Some trespassers have frequently complained about two to three sacks of poultry waste being dumped near the road. These sacks containing meat get rotten after a while which makes hard for the pedestrians to even cross the road because of filthy smell.
