Picture for representational purpose only.

BHOPAL: BMC has bared its teeth at pet owners who don’t Swachh up. The corporation fined the owners of a pug Rs 500 on Wednesday — the first poop fine in Swachh No. 2 city in a long, long time.

“Before walking the dog, owners must carry a pet scooper. Littering is an offence. A fine was served after the dog caught pooping,” said BMC health officer Rakesh Sharma. Going by his version of events, a civic team was scanning Shakti Nagar when they spotted the pug in the act at exactly 9.12am.

“At first, the owner refrained from paying the fine. When we told them that they would have to pay the penalty in court, they relented,” said Sharma. “It was the first such fine in a very long time by BMC,” admitted Sharma.

Owner of the pet, Madhu Saxena, wished the BMC team was more polite. “Our domestic help was with the dog. My two-year-old dog was kicked and our domestic help was intimidated by the BMC team,” alleged the former teacher. “BMC’s activism will fizzle out after the Swachh Survekshan is completed. Where is BMC when garbage lies all over the colony? There are no signages that indicate there is a penalty for taking one’s pet out for nature’s call,” said Saxena. She alleged that BMC staffer Sanket “misbehaved with women in the house”.

BMC officials took note of Saxena’s grievance and promised a probe if she files a complaint.

200% hike for second offence: BMC officials say this is the beginning of a clampdown and they will use Smart City CCTVs to catch offenders. Pet owners will have to shell out double the amount for every subsequent offence, and BMC may even impound the pet. “We will employ a veterinary expert to assess the pet owner’s ability to own a pet,” said an official.

Animal Welfare Board of India has no law that makes it mandatory for pet owners to clean up pet litter, pet owners have always found it, said Swathi Gaurav, unit head of People’s for Animals. Agreeing with the premise that scooper should be carried and pet animals should not litter in public, she stated that imposing penalty has become a new fad. There need to be better facilities for pet owners, she said.

