A new initiative of Gandhigiri was taken up by the GHMC staff, by garlanding the people who were found urinating in the open and not making use of the civic urinals, at Putlibowli near Koti on Sunday.
After the earlier efforts to impose penalties on such defaulters did not have much effect, Gandhigiri has been adopted by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation staff.
GHMC Circle-8 officials conducted special drives at the bus stops near Koti, Sultan Bazaar, Chaderghat and Putlibowli, and caught a total of seven men.
After a person was found urinating in a public place at Putlibowli, the staff caught and garlanded him and clapped for him. They also gave a Gandhian lecture to the person against open urination.
Some others who tried to urinate in the same area ran away on seeing the staff with garlands in their hands. Youths were seen being shamed in public.
"Our teams offered to garland to them in a Gandhigiri way and asked them why they did not utilise the public toilet available in those locations. The youths promised us that they will be wiser now." Assistant medical and health officer Y. Venkata Ramana told Deccan Chronicle.
According to the GHMC Act, officials can impose a fine of upto Rs 200 for open defecation or open urination.
Last year, the civic body had imposed penalty on 19,260 persons.
In the special drive taken up in the last one week, the civic body has imposed penalty against 3,500 persons.
“The corporation has put up posters against open urination in public places and provided address of places where public toilets have been provided in the circle.
Instead of penalising the persons, GHMC wants to adopt the novel approach to drive away people against urinating at public places,” GHMC deputy municipal commissioner, Vijaya Laksmi told The New Indian Express.