Mumbai: The city may be in the grip of a virulent strain of the tubercle bacillus, but that has not served as a deterrent to Mumbaikars who simply can’t help indulging in their favourite pastime–spitting in public. From July to December 2011, the city collected around Rs 2.24 crore in fines from those caught spitting. And the 1.1 lakh people fined is not even the tip of the iceberg.
Every day, lakhs of people get away with this anti-social and disease-spreading habit, say health officials shouting hoarse trying to get the message across that TB is spread via droplets released by patients coughing, sneezing or spitting.
Just last week, the Bombay high court had observed, “Spitting is an inherent characteristic of Indians.” But this trait is abetting spread of TB. The HC had made this observation while hearing a petition challenging the power given by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to clean-up marshals to fine offenders. The marshals, who can impose fines of Rs 200 for spitting, say that more often than not people refuse to pay and simply laugh it off. Last year, Mumbai recorded 9,168 TB deaths.
The BMC does not categorize fines collected by the nature of the offence. Instead, data is collated under the amount of the fine–in this case Rs 200. But a senior official from the Solid WasteManagement Department told TOI that 70% of the offences in this category are for spitting. Of the Rs 3.21 crore collected of this amount, approximately Rs 2.24 crore was for spitting.
“There are various cleanliness and sanitation bylaws, under which we fine offenders. Spitting in a public place calls for a Rs 200 fine, as also urinating and washing utensils in public. But the last two offences make up only around 30% of the offenders,” said a BMC official.
The numbers, however, are not representative of the widespread problem. Many spit from buses or trains. Others spit from moving vehicles. “There is a limit to how many people that we can catch and fine,” said the official.
Citizens’ apathy towards this habit–most simply walk around gobs of spittoon that dot our pavements and streets–does not help. Anisha Shah (25) said that as part of her college project, she and her team had taken it upon themselves to stop and talk to people who spat in public. “When we tried to inform people about the danger of this ant-social habit, they would either walk away or simply shrug. The more aggressive ones would ask; ‘Tere baap ki sadak hai kya? (Is this your father’s road)’,” said Shah.
Times View
The BMC needs to be congratulated for what appears to be good enforcement of anti-spitting regulations. Spitting in public places is not just disgusting, it is extremely damaging for public health. At stake here is more than just the cleanliness of our cities, in itself an important consideration. Diseases like tuberculosis in particular are much more likely to spread in a society that tolerates public spitting than in one that does not. With India already being the country with the largest number of TB cases in the world, we can do without adding to the problem through our unhygienic ways. Other municipal and panchayati bodies must take a cue from the BMC’s efforts.
Every day, lakhs of people get away with this anti-social and disease-spreading habit, say health officials shouting hoarse trying to get the message across that TB is spread via droplets released by patients coughing, sneezing or spitting.
Just last week, the Bombay high court had observed, “Spitting is an inherent characteristic of Indians.” But this trait is abetting spread of TB. The HC had made this observation while hearing a petition challenging the power given by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to clean-up marshals to fine offenders. The marshals, who can impose fines of Rs 200 for spitting, say that more often than not people refuse to pay and simply laugh it off. Last year, Mumbai recorded 9,168 TB deaths.
The BMC does not categorize fines collected by the nature of the offence. Instead, data is collated under the amount of the fine–in this case Rs 200. But a senior official from the Solid WasteManagement Department told TOI that 70% of the offences in this category are for spitting. Of the Rs 3.21 crore collected of this amount, approximately Rs 2.24 crore was for spitting.
“There are various cleanliness and sanitation bylaws, under which we fine offenders. Spitting in a public place calls for a Rs 200 fine, as also urinating and washing utensils in public. But the last two offences make up only around 30% of the offenders,” said a BMC official.
The numbers, however, are not representative of the widespread problem. Many spit from buses or trains. Others spit from moving vehicles. “There is a limit to how many people that we can catch and fine,” said the official.
Citizens’ apathy towards this habit–most simply walk around gobs of spittoon that dot our pavements and streets–does not help. Anisha Shah (25) said that as part of her college project, she and her team had taken it upon themselves to stop and talk to people who spat in public. “When we tried to inform people about the danger of this ant-social habit, they would either walk away or simply shrug. The more aggressive ones would ask; ‘Tere baap ki sadak hai kya? (Is this your father’s road)’,” said Shah.
Times View
The BMC needs to be congratulated for what appears to be good enforcement of anti-spitting regulations. Spitting in public places is not just disgusting, it is extremely damaging for public health. At stake here is more than just the cleanliness of our cities, in itself an important consideration. Diseases like tuberculosis in particular are much more likely to spread in a society that tolerates public spitting than in one that does not. With India already being the country with the largest number of TB cases in the world, we can do without adding to the problem through our unhygienic ways. Other municipal and panchayati bodies must take a cue from the BMC’s efforts.
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