Sir,

It is encouraging to see Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) launch its ‘80 Garbage-Free Points’ campaign to mark the country’s 80th Independence Day (SOM dated July 28).

However, I hope the initiative does not remain confined to just 80 identified locations but is expanded to every corner of the city where indiscriminate garbage dumping has become the norm.

One such location is on 1st Main Road in Hebbal 1st Stage (Ward No. 1), the entrance from the Ring Road to Hebbal 1st and 3rd Stages. Despite repeated complaints and several letters published in Star of Mysore, this stretch has effectively become a permanent garbage dump.

I urge the MCC to include this location in its ‘80 Garbage-Free Points’ campaign so that residents can finally enjoy their right to a clean and healthy environment. The problem is not that the MCC is inactive. The Corporation regularly deploys Pourakarmikas to clear the accumulated waste, often with little more than basic equipment.

The real issue is that the focus remains on cleaning up after the damage is done instead of preventing the dumping in the first place. Time and again, I have seen someone toss a bag of garbage from a passing two-wheeler just moments after the workers have cleaned the area. It is both frustrating and disheartening to watch.

I use this road every day for my routine errands, as do hundreds of others. Every trip means passing through heaps of garbage and enduring the foul smell. Residents have long given up taking morning or evening walks on this stretch because the stench has become unbearable.

I fail to understand why the MCC is reluctant to crack down on habitual offenders when it has the authority to impose fines. Simply clearing the garbage sends the wrong message to litterbugs, who seem to believe they can dump waste anywhere as long as it is not outside their own homes. I appeal to the MCC and its new Commissioner to treat this as a priority. Spot inspections, surveillance cameras and strict penalties for violators would go a long way in eliminating chronic dumping sites.

Having cleared encroachments from footpaths, MCC should now build on that momentum with a sustained city-wide cleanliness drive.

—Shivaram Nayak

Hebbal

30.7.2026