SANGAREDDY: Sanitation officials in Siddipet and Medak are deploying tough, and hitherto unseen, measures to keep the streets clean. K Satish, a Siddipet sanitary inspector, makes those who litter pick up their own garbage.
More recently, he chased some offenders and forced them to take back the garbage they had thrown. N Vanitha, a sanitary inspector from Medak, personally goes to the homes of offenders who dump garbage on the road, at 5 am, and imposes fines on them. In addition, in cases where offenders refuse to pay penalties imposed on them, electricity and drinking water connections to their homes are severed.
The measures were taken up as municipal officials believe cleanliness is the key to protect people from infectious disease during the monsoon, especially with the added threat of COVID-19. Finance Minister T Harish Rao and district officials have been asking people to keep the constituency clean and plastic-free, and have requested people to cooperate in keeping the environment clean.
In Siddipet, for the past couple of days, some house owners and traders have been dumping garbage on the streets at night. In one such case, staff workers at a lodge had dumped empty bottles and leftover food on the road.
Sanitary inspector K Satish witnessed this, and chased the workers on his two-wheeler. He caught up with them, and forced them to take back the thrown garbage. The owner of the lodge was warned of being levied heavy fines ranging from Rs 1,000 to 10,000 if the offence was repeated.
Satish said a garbage collection vehicle has been assigned to every ward of Siddipet town, and in case the vehicle did not come, people have been asked to call the authorities to arrange for another vehicle. He said recently, fines have been imposed on as many as ten houses in Siddipet.
In Medak, sanitary inspector N Vanitha arrives at the municipal office at 4.30 am every day, and oversees the attendance process of sanitation workers by 5 am. She collects the names of people who have dumped garbage on the roads, and personally goes to their houses around 5 am to impose fines on them.
Vanitha said a total of Rs 4 lakh had been collected in fines for dumping garbage outdoors from February this year until now. She said the electricity connections of those who had refused to pay the fine had been cut.
She was vindicated when most offenders immediately paid the fines after electricity was disconnected, and also assured that they would never repeat the offence. Harish Rao has appreciated the work of Satish and Vanitha.
Offenders get a dose of their own medicine
Siddipet sanitary inspector K Satish chased offenders who had dumped garbage on streets, and made them take it back. Medak sanitary inspector N Vanitha supervises the collection process early in the morning, and personally imposes fines on offenders