The ‘Gift Return’ Program to Keep Bengaluru Cleaner
The Greater Bengaluru Authority has launched a unique initiative to try to keep the city cleaner. According to an NDTV report, the GBA has launched a “Garbage Dumping Festival,” warning residents that if they dump garbage into the streets, the garbage will be dumped right back onto their doorsteps. “To create awareness, this is a sort of a return gift,” said Kari Gowda, CEO of the Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Company Limited (BSWML). In addition to returning garbage to people who dump, the city is imposing a ₹2,000 fine, even for first offenses. The city previously levied a ₹500 fine for first offenses, ₹1,000 for second offenses and ₹2,000 for third offenses, but the fines will no longer be staggered.
Some people on social media have called it “bizarre” to return garbage to residents, but Gowda told NDTV: “This is not a bizarre activity. We have our workers going to each house educating people to segregate waste. We are creating awareness on social media and also requesting people not to throw garbage on the road.”
You may be wondering how the GBA is going to catch offenders. Well, the GBA will rely on any video recordings, including videos taken by ordinary citizens. To that end, the GBA is offering ₹250 to anyone who records and shares videos of people dumping garbage. If you’re visiting a friend in Bengaluru and happen to record the friend throwing garbage in the street, you may ask yourself if it’s worth snitching on your friend for ₹250? No, it’s not. But you may want to assume the role of a BSWML worker and give your friend a return gift.
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Compiled and partly written by Indian humorist MELVIN DURAI, author of the novel Bala Takes the Plunge.
[Comments? Contributions? We would love to hear from you about Chai Time. If you have contributions, please email us at melvin@melvindurai.com. We welcome jokes, quotes, online clips, and more.]
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