Rs 500 penalty for throwing garbage: DCM Parameshwar
Bengaluru, November 2: Considering the garbage issue seriously in the city, the state government has planned to increase the penalty being imposed on those who dump garbage wherever they want from Rs 100 to Rs 500 and it would be implemented strictly, said Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Urban Development Minister Dr G Parameshwar.
Speaking to reporters after holding an officials meeting on waste disposal at BBMP office at Malleshwaram here on Thursday, he said that garbage black spots were being generated in the city as people dump the waste haphazardly. In order to contain such practice, the government has decided to increase the penalty from Rs 100 to Rs 500. It was also decided to appoint an ex-serviceman for each ward to keep a vigil on such practices in black spots and slap fine, he said.
As the garbage menace was increasing in the city, the court has also directed the government to take suitable action and the government would welcome it. Currently, the waste disposal was under control. As of now, the city has 13 million population with 29 lakh houses. Out of which, 5 lakh were commercial setups. Total 5700 tonnes waste including 4200 tonnes from houses and 1500 tonnes from hotels, Kalyana Mantapas and others, was being generated every day. Total 4213 auto tippers were collecting the waste from door-steps. The BBMP has 566 compactors vehicles, 8 mechanical sweepers, 18500 civic workers, 166 solid waste management units and dry waste collection centres and 11 bio methanation plants for waste management, he said.
All compactor vehicles were GPS enabled and it was planning to install GPS to auto tippers. While calling tenders for purchasing new vehicles, it would be included in the tender that the contractors have to manage the tippers and compactors. Tender would also be called for purchasing mechanized sweeping machines. The existing Bellalli quarry would be closed within three months. Alternative to this, terrafarm at Doddaballapur would be started shortly. It was also discussed to open Ullalli, Marenahalli and Bagalur quarries, he said.
He has directed the authorities to start generation power from waste within next six months. The power generation centre set up by the BESCOM near Bidadi would open shortly. Assistant engineers would be appointed for managing the solid waste in each zone in the BBMP and the senior health officers would be given responsibility in each Assembly constituency. The health officers and other officers appointed on contract basis would be continued, the DCM said.
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Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
