Readers talk trash: Citizens should do better, but no for clean-up marshals

Mumbaikars have two suggestions to middayrsquos twopart garbage menace seriesmdashcivic sense and more public bins Also they have given a thumbs down to the BMCrsquos plan to bring the cleanup marshals back Responding to middayrsquos coverage netizens and readers said the civic body the citizens and advanced locality managements ALM need to work together to tackle Mumbairsquos stinking roads and neighbourhoodsThrowing trash on roads is a big nuisance even in Marol We have raised the issue continuously for months but rather than finding a permanent solution the BMC just removes the trash in the morning to be again dumped in the evening at the same placewondering what happened to the swachh bharat missionrdquo MaroL Citizens Voice posted on Twitter now named XMumbai Matters said that citizens are equally responsible for the menace ldquoThe BMC can do lastmile cleanup but the neighbourhood can be kept clean by the citizensrdquo Walking Project pointed to the need for more and more bins in public places He tweeted ldquoMany places where people put garbage should actually have public bins It is only intuitive and will encourage use of bins Surroundings of bins also need to be pressure washed and cleaned thoroughly to prevent littering around the bin instead of inside Poor cleaning around garbage bins leads to piling on whatever little trash there isrdquoThe bins were overflowing with garbage at Patel Wadi neighbourhood at Yaari Road in Versova in July PicSayyed Sameer AbediAmi posted on Twitter that everyone needs to work together for a cleaner society ldquoCitizens BMC and ALMs need to work on it together Hawkers are also a major contributor to the garbage menace Bandra station West has at least five garbage dumps from station to lake Juice and vegetable vendors dump the waste and citizens have no civic sense They clean their home and dump trash on the streetsrdquo she tweetedlsquoCityrsquos a big garbage binrsquoEva Pereira said ldquoCant blame it all on BMC Citizens are throwing garbage all over the city No civic sense Kiran added ldquoThe city looks like a large open dustbin No accountabilityrdquo Mahedra H tweeted that luckily ldquoour A ward demonstrates excellent responsiveness and officers in SWM are readily accessible to the community Even Seema Patel pointed out the same She wrote ldquoOnly certain areas like south Mumbai are clean I am tired of writing to the BMC Mumbai is unclean due to garbage Any areas outside railway stations like Dadar Lower Parel Malad are unclean And Mumbai is the financial capitalHefty fines neededMumBoy wrote ldquoIt is also a byproduct of encroachment Besides people refuse to use large garbage bins They should be fined heavily for this On the other hand SWM collection trucks and employees are also not equipped to handle large dustbinsrdquo ldquoWhile people keep their houses spic and span they must do the very same in public to ensure clean streets The authorities should do their part by daily streetcleaning and disinfection and by fining garbage throwers onthespot and doubling the fine for repeat offenders and by launching online and offline hygiene programmesrdquo said Peter Castellino a midday readerAnother reader Satyanarayan Kabra said ldquoThe BMC is prompt in collecting garbage from outside societies as well as other areas yet the city is facing mounting garbage issues Citys population has risen dramatically and trash generated each day has increased manifold Perhaps garbage needs to be collected both in the morning and evening Also hawkers and small eateries throw leftovers recklessly on the roadside This needs to be monitored Steep fines must be imposed on those not maintaining cleanlinessrdquolsquoCause of disease toorsquoldquoThe main cause of gastro malaria and dengue spreading in the city is garbage and debris that is not being cleared by the BMC which is a matter of concern As far as debris is concerned the authority needs to fine and punish those who dump it Make them liable for removing the debrisrdquo said Iqbal Gilani Mansuri another readerlsquoCleanup marshals are extortionistsrsquoMumbai Matters tweeted ldquoCleanup marshals are notorious for their dishonesty They have to clean up their image first and create trust and confidence Mumbaikars look at them as extortionistsrdquo Another group of Chandivali citizens sharing experience of some shopkeepers said that cleanup marshals would demand from them yearly onetime protection fees to not penalise them MumbaiKaSwamiBola tweeted that cleanup marshals are simply ldquoextortionists who give police threats Under no circumstance would I suggest they be brought backrdquo MARWAmulund however thinks ldquoThere hopefully will be some fear among citizens due to cleanup marshals but a consistent approach is needed with ward level stats to be published daily to start with and then weekly this will ensure accountability sicrdquo