BENGALURU: Private hospitals complain that men claiming to be BBMP garbage marshals (ex-servicemen roped in to monitor littering in public and impose fines) are harassing them, accusing them of not segregating waste properly. The men come without any notice or government order, and show pictures of mixed waste that hospitals are not sure is from their premises.
Dr R Ravindra, president of Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association, which has received complaints from several hospitals, said, “These men show up unannounced with some pictures. They need to inform us if they want to inspect the hospital, and a staff member will accompany them. How do we know these pictures are not fake? They demand a fine of Rs 50,000 to Rs 2 lakh in cash, and threaten that if hospitals don’t pay, the media will be informed. This appears to be a money-making racket.”
Dr Suresh Krishnamurthy K, managing partner, Excelcare Hospital in Banashankari, said the men accused the hospital of mixing bio-medical and regular waste, last Saturday. “We are NABH-accredited hospitals and follow all procedures. They said they will release the pictures to the media, if we don’t pay the fine. They need to give a notice for a first-time offence, instead of imposing a stiff fine. The matter was resolved after we wrote to the BBMP, saying we will take action for the laxity,” Dr Krishnamurthy said.
At Punya Hospital in Basaveshwaranagar, men claiming to be marshals allegedly accused staffers of mixing waste. “We told them the garbage is in our premises and yet to be segregated. They had no order copy. We are working hard to treat Covid patients and struggling without staff. At a time like this, they shouldn’t harass us. They apologised and left,” said Dr Nagaraj Puttuswamy, managing director of Punya Hospital.
Dr Nagaraj cited another incident, when men claiming to be BBMP officials asked the hospital to pay Rs 15,000 to sanitise the footpath and street, and said the money is meant to pay volunteers. “We said we will think about it, but they didn’t turn up again,” he added.
D Randeep, Special Commissioner, Solid Waste Management, said BBMP marshals can be identified by their uniforms with their names stitched on, and also carry ID cards.“Bio-medical waste offences can attract a fine of up to Rs 5 lakh. During the pandemic, bio-medical waste should not be mixed. Karnataka State Pollution Control Board is the overseeing authority. If hospitals find the fine steep, they can appeal to their zone’s Joint Commissioner,” Randeep explained.