HDMC launches door-to-door waste collection in Hubballi-Dharwad, imposes fines for littering
Hubballi: The Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) has rolled out a door-to-door waste collection initiative in all wards. The new system, implemented by the Solid Waste Management (SWM) Unit, aims to prevent garbage from piling up on roads, public spaces, and open sites in Hubballi and Dharwad.
The decision to introduce this waste collection system and impose fines follows growing concerns over the public's negligence in maintaining the city's cleanliness. Many residents and shop owners have been discarding waste in public areas, despite previous warnings from authorities.
BM Mallikarjun, Executive Engineer of the SWM Unit, noted that while initial efforts to warn the public about littering had been made, some individuals and businesses, particularly paan shops and roadside eateries, ignored these warnings. Consequently, the SWM Unit has now begun imposing fines on those caught littering. Mallikarjun emphasized that the Unit is committed to enforcing these penalties without exceptions.
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As part of this enforcement, the SWM Unit has already fined several violators. For instance, residents and a hotelier in Wards 6 and 14 were traced and fined a total of ₹5,400 after waste was found dumped beside the road. Mallikarjun highlighted that the SWM Unit has a fleet of 236 vehicles dedicated to daily waste collection across Hubballi-Dharwad, handling between 450 to 500 tonnes of waste.
To further deter littering, the Corporation has installed 120 CCTV cameras in key residential areas and markets. These cameras will be monitored regularly, and any individual or business caught discarding waste in public places will face penalties. The fine for individual violators is set at ₹100, with higher fines for shop owners. Repeat offenders among shop owners may even face the cancellation of their trade licenses.
Mallikarjun urged citizens to cooperate by waiting for the Corporation's waste collection vehicles instead of dumping garbage on the streets. He also assured that the SWM Unit would continue its stringent enforcement measures until the practice of littering is eradicated.
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
