CHENNAI: Reminding that creating awareness among the public against littering during mass gatherings like Kaanum Pongal was the responsibility of the State, the southern bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) instructed the government to sensitise the public while also imposing penalties.

Hearing a suo motu case pertaining the huge quantity of garbage that accumulated on Marina beach after Kaanum Pongal a few days ago, the bench comprising judicial member justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana and expert member Satyagopal Korlapati noted how the officials use public announcement systems to continuously warn the public about keeping their kids and valuables safe.

Similarly, they can make announcements asking the public to drop waste only in the garbage bins and avoid littering, besides imposing penalties against those who litter. The bench also wondered why the government, which deployed 16,000 police personnel for security, failed to deploy conservancy workers or volunteers to monitor the beach and to ask the public to use bins.

The government pleader maintained that the people should be aware of the importance of not littering during the festival gatherings. The bench posted the case on March 5 for further hearing.