The Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) on Saturday collected Rs 26,500 in fines from those who were caught throwing waste at non-designated areas on Saturday.

An inspection team deployed by the metropolis in association with volunteers involved in the Bagmati Mega Clean-up Campaign caught five people throwing garbage and fined them.

A women’s group which is active in the river clean-up drive in the Tilganga area on Saturday morning caught a woman red-handed while she was dumping household waste into Bagmati River. 

“She was charged Rs 1,500 for throwing garbage into the river,” said Min Bahadur Thapa, a sub-inspector of KMC Police.

Two locals were charged Rs 10,000 each for dumping waste that came from demolished houses into Bishnumati River, according to Thapa. 

Another person was fined Rs 5,000 for dumping old household items in front of the fire brigade office in Basantapur. 

Rabin Man Shrestha, chief of Environment Department at the KMC said, the metropolis is going to take stricter measures against litterbugs. 

The Solid Waste Management Act 2011 states that people throwing garbage in non-designated areas and public places are liable to a fine up to Rs 100,000 or three months in jail.