Pune: The flying squads and sanitary inspectors of the civic body continue to grapple with the problem of spitting at public places and have fined only 1,228 offenders between Oct 1 last year and Sept 30 this year. Civic activists said the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) should take additional steps to raise awareness about public hygiene and sanitation and increase monitoring to reduce the number of offenders. According to PMC data, the highest number of offenders — 208 — were caught on Dec.
The lowest number was in April and May when the officials fined only 28 violators in each of the two months. The fine amount for spitting in public is Rs1,000. The action is being taken under special solid waste management guidelines, which the PMC had approved in 2016.
The civic body has been continuously monitoring public places for cases of littering. "The civic administration has formed WhatsApp groups at ward-office levels. The staff coordinates with the head office through these groups.
Public awareness drives are carried out using traditional methods as well as social media," said Sandip Kadam, head of PMC's solid waste management department. Residents, however, said the PMC needs to do more to deal with sanitation issues. "The threat of mosquito-borne diseases goes up during the rainy season.
PMC should undertake special drives during this period," said Gauri Kulkarni of Kothrud. Rucha Joshi, a resident of Katraj, said the administration should make use of technology to curb.