Instant response: One of the persons caught spitting in Church Street cleans the space on Wednesday.

BENGALURU: Five persons who spat in Church Street were told to clean up the mess on Wednesday evening. Each was fined Rs 500.

Santosh Raj, health inspector of the ward, along with a team of NGO Ugly Indians , that has adopted the street with BBMP , spent 90 minutes on the road looking for offenders.

“People need to be taught how to keep the city clean. The offenders wouldn’t dare spit in their house but don’t care if it’s a public space. This is why we made sure they clean up the mess they’d created. Hope, they will realise that keeping the city clean is not an easy job,” Santosh said.

Three of the offenders were street vendors. “They chew on tobacco and spit it wherever they find space,” Santosh said, adding, the fine collected will be credited to BBMP’s account on Thursday.

Special commissioner Randeep D said, “It’s a great initiative. I don’t think any health inspector has done something like this before. These people have been fined Rs 500 this time, but if they repeat the offence, the amount will be doubled.”

A volunteer from Ugly Indians said, “It’s very unhygienic to clean somebody’s spit. If authorities start imposing fines, people will realise it is a serious offence; no one would want to lose Rs 500 out of his/her pocket.”

BJP promises to consult residents about no-vehicle plan

The BJP on Wednesday said it will hold consultations with Church Street residents before taking any decision on pedestrianising the prime street. The assurance came after 45 families opposed the proposal to ban vehicles on the street and seven other roads, as mooted in the draft Comprehensive Mobility Plan. TOI published a report highlighting this on Wednesday — ‘Why were we kept in dark, ask Church Street residents’.

Reacting to the report, Bengaluru Central MP PC Mohan and mayor M Goutham Kumar said the government hasn’t made any announcement and residents will be consulted on the issue before any final decision is taken. Pointing out that the idea was mooted by the previous HD Kumaraswamy government, Kumar said: “It is not just residents, even elected representatives were not consulted. Residents needn’t fear as there is no such proposal. Not a single meeting has been held in this regard so far.”

