BENGALURU: Popular restaurants in the city were raided by the civic agency on Wednesday night, as part of a drive to crack down on plastic use. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) collected `14.42 lakh in fines and seized 1,074 kg of plastic during the inspection conducted on 110 eateries. It also shut down four traders.
The eateries fined during the drive include famous names such as New Udupi Park Restaurant, Coffee Day Centre, KFC, Wall Street Restaurant and Peacock Restaurant. BBMP has started the raids to check use of plastic by traders and commercial establishments in the city for packing purposes, and ensure zero-plastic usage. The crackdown is expected to be carried out throughout this month, for which health officials will be deputed from all the eight zonal and 198 ward-level offices.
This move comes after BBMP last year issued notices to all convention centres and shopping malls not to use plastic material and install RO plants within their structures to avoid serving bottled drinking water.
D Randeep, Additional Commissioner for Health and Solid Waste Management, BBMP, said, “The raids will be carried out against convention halls, shopping malls and eateries and heavy fine will be levied on those using plastic material. We have started the drive in all our zones on March 20 and it will go on for a month.”This is the first drive undertaken by the civic body this year.