Liquor Outlets In Ganjam Slapped Rs 1 Lakh Penalty For Littering Plastic Waste

Berhampur: Ganjam District Collector Vijay Amruta Kulange slapped a penalty of Rs 1 lakh each on two liquor outlets in Berhampur after finding plastic glasses and bottles junked outside the shops on Monday night while carrying out a surprise inspection near Berhampur railway station.

Expressing his dissatisfaction over littering of the non-bio-degradable wastes in the area, the district Collector slapped a fine of Rs 1 lakh on each of them. He also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 each on owners of six other shops in the city for not dumping waste properly.

Apart from imposing fine, Kulange also urged the shop owners to use dustbins and keep the surroundings clean.

The enforcement team of the Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BeMC), meanwhile, said to have collected fine from one of the liquor outlets.

“A total fine of Rs 2, 60,000 was imposed on eight shops including two liquor outlets by the district Collector himself for littering waste in the vicinity. Till now we have collected Rs 1 lakh from one of the liquor shops,” said Chakravarti Singh Rathore, Commissioner of the Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BeMC).

“Such inspection drive will continue in future also to make Berhampur a plastic-free and clean city in the State,” he added.

Despite ban on single-use plastics (SUPs) in all urban areas by the State government since October, 2019, people and shop owners have been found blatantly flouting the norms.

This is not the first time BeMC authorities have decided to go tough on litterbugs. A few weeks ago, collector Kulange took out an impromptu inspection with several other officials of the Chatrapur NAC and levied fines on several shops for flouting waste disposal rules. He had also slapped hefty fines on six shopkeepers in Annapurna market and SMT road in Berhampur for dumping their store garbage on road earlier in the month.