Any newspaper aficionado in Kerala will be familiar with full-page newspaper advertisements in both English and the vernacular of retail giant Big Bazaar asking their customers to trade in their old household scrap comprising just about everything under the sun in exchange for attractive purchase vouchers.
What they would not know was the manner in which such a big retail brand chooses to dispose of the same. On Wednesday, the residents of Kongalattu at Punnakkamugal in the capital city of Thiruvananthapuram were greeted by the sight of huge piles of discarded scrap in this suburban area.
Following widespread protests from the locals, the city corporation led by Mayor Adv VK Prashanth along with councilors RP Sivaji and K Anilkumar among others visited the site. Subsequent enquiries traced the culprits to the Pattom branch of Big Bazaar which apparently had dumped five truckloads of scrap collected from the public there by night.
In return for such civic irresponsibility, the Mayor slapped the retail giant with a fine of Rs 25000 for littering. They were also asked to clear up the place by noon on Thursday, failing which they could face further punitive action including cancellation of their license to function from the said premises.
Speaking to The News Minute, the Mayor said that when retail giants indulge in such publicity gimmicks, more often than not, they usually do not have a proper waste-disposal system in place to effectively dispose of the household scrap collected from the public.
“We have asked them to submit a detailed plan of their waste-disposal mechanism in this regard. The Corporation is also mulling over including the same in the initial stage itself when companies apply for licenses to ply their businesses in a particular area. Failure to incorporate this aspect will definitely hinder the issue of business licenses,” the Mayor asserts.