Rs 70,000 in fines collected for dumping trash on Mumbai-Bengaluru highway

PUNE: The civic administration has fined citizens caught dumping garbage on the Mumbai-Bengaluru highway over the past three months, and collected around Rs 70,000.
"Most of these citizens were dumping trash during the night time," said Asha Raut, the head of the civic body's solid waste management department.
The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and the National Highway Authority of India jointly conducted a special drive over several nights to catch hold of these offenders.
Civic officials said they found thermocol, garden waste, wet garbage and dry garbage along the highway and its service roads.
The drive began in July - nearly Rs 29,000 was collected in fines that month, followed by Rs 34,000 in August and Rs 7,000 in September.
"The civic administration is focusing on the entry points of the city. Special attention is being given to keep the entry points clean. The drive is undertaken not only on the Bengaluru highway, but even Solapur and Pune-Mumbai highway," an official said.
Local residents and regular commuters have complained that the dumping as well as burning of garbage along the highway was most serious between Chandni Chowk and Vadgaon bridge.
They said residents from newly-merged areas were responsible for most of the garbage dumping. They also accused vegetable and fruit vendors who conduct their business along the highway during the day of throwing away their remains on the service roads. Some of them burn this waste, they said.
While acknowledging that the PMC's night drive was good, they cautioned that cleanliness should be a regular feature, and not a one-off announcement.