Darjeeling Municipality to impose fines for littering, launch new waste management measures

REZA PRADHAN

DARJEELING,: In an effort to keep Darjeeling clean, the Darjeeling Municipality has decided to take strict measures against littering and improper waste disposal, including the imposition of fines on those found littering or dumping garbage in the municipality area.

On Thursday, the civic body also carried out an awareness campaign across the town using public address systems and by interacting with residents.

Darjeeling Municipality Chairman Dipen Thakuri said, "Fines will be levied against those found urinating and spitting on the streets, as well as littering and throwing garbage in public places."

Thakuri, who visited different parts of the town with municipal staff as part of the awareness drive, said the municipality's efforts had received a boost following the State government's notification prohibiting littering and introducing fines from July 1.

"The government has assured us that by August a pilot project will begin with the installation of a waste sorting and processing machine. We have decided to install these machines at locations where garbage vats were previously placed. The machines will sort and crush dry waste so that it does not have to be transported to the dumping chute. Municipal staff will be trained to operate the machines. Another machine will also be installed to convert wet waste into manure," he said.

The chairman appealed to residents not to dump waste in garbage vats until the new system is in place.

"For the interim period, people should not throw waste in the vats. We have fixed timings for waste collection vehicles, and residents should hand over their segregated waste to them," he said.

To discourage tourists from littering, the municipality will also display a list of do's and don'ts in hotels, along with details of the penalties for violations. Fines will range from Rs 100 for offences such as urinating and spitting in public to Rs 10,000 for large-scale garbage dumping or dumping construction waste on streets.

"We often find people dumping construction materials on the streets at night during house construction. To curb this, we will use CCTV footage to identify violators and impose fines of up to Rs 10,000, besides issuing notices," Thakuri said.