Send video of litterbugs dropping waste to BSWML's WhatsApp number, earn Rs 250
Bengaluru: In a bid to curb rampant waste dumping, Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Ltd (BSWML) has launched a new initiative offering a Rs 250 reward to anyone who records and shares videos of littering incidents. The move follows the earlier ‘Kasa Suriyuva Habba’ campaign, which targeted litterbugs by dumping garbage at their doorsteps.
The videos can be shared on BSWML’s dedicated WhatsApp number, 9448197197.
BSWML Managing Director Karee Gowda said the agency has received a clear mandate from the government to address key waste management issues while restructuring infrastructure to meet the city’s needs over the next 30 to 40 years.
“Given a freehand by the government, BSWML is able to take bold steps, including dumping waste at the doorsteps of such mischief mongers who care less for the city and its aesthetics. To strengthen BSWML’s image and ensure people take us seriously, we are launching the video initiative. Those shooting the video should share the location and also details of violators if possible,” The New Indian Express quoted Gowda as saying.
Gowda noted that people continue to litter, often too lazy to hand over their garbage to auto tippers sent to their doorsteps.
BSWML is also exploring ways to transfer the reward money directly to the UPI accounts of people who share videos, with their identities reportedly kept confidential.
Addressing concerns about the additional financial burden on BSWML, an official said the agency will not incur a loss, as the rewards will be paid from penalties collected from litterbugs.
“We collect Rs 1,000 to 10,000 depending of the quantity and type of waste dumped by irresponsible public. Rewarding Rs 250 is not a loss at all and this will rather encourage people to keep the city clean,” TNIE quoted an official as saying.
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14 India-bound ships in Strait of Hormuz stopped by Iran; 1 hit by bullets, 1 crosses: Sources
New Delhi (PTI): A convoy of 14 India-bound ships carrying crude oil and gas were stopped by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) by firing at two of them while they were transiting the Strait of Hormuz, leading to 13 of the vessels returning to different locations in the Persian Gulf, official sources privy to the development said.
An Indian-flag carrying ship, which was hit by bullets fired by the IRGC while crossing the Strait of Hormuz, was carrying crude oil and a window pane was broken, forcing it to stop the journey and return. The extent of damage to the second vessel was not immediately known but it also had returned.
However, another ship, which was Indian flagged and loaded with crude oil for the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, sailed through the Strait and is now heading towards India, the sources said.
Two Iranian gunboats approached the targeted tanker and fired at it without warning. Gunboats approached the vessel 37 kilometres northeast of Oman, causing other vessels to return without completing the crossing, the sources said.
The incident was reported in waters between the Qeshm and Larak islands, they said.
Out of the 14 India-bound vessels, seven are carrying the Indian flag, four have the Liberia flag, two are of the Marshall Islands and one of Vietnam.
Six of them are loaded with crude oil, three have LPG and four are loaded with fertilisers. Among the ships, five are bulk carriers. All 14 vessels were sailing in a row.
Thirteen of them were stopped by the Iranian Navy and were instructed to wait. Out of the 13 stranded vessels, seven vessels are drifting south of Larak Island, waiting for clearance from the Iranian Navy, the sources said.
The Indian government is understood to have been coordinating with the Iranian authorities for the safe voyage of the stranded India-bound ships, they said.
The standoff over the Strait of Hormuz reportedly escalated again on Saturday as Iran reversed its reopening of the crucial waterway and fired on ships attempting to pass. This came as the United States pressed ahead with its blockade of Iranian ports.
Confusion over the Strait, through which roughly one-fifth of the world's oil passes, threatened to deepen the energy crisis.
The ceasefire between Iran and the US is due to run out by mid-next week.
Iran's joint military command said Saturday that "control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state ... under strict management and control of the armed forces."
It warned that it would continue to block transit through the strait as long as the US blockade of Iranian ports remained in effect.
