Garbage strewn around a bin in Bhubaneswar. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, Nov. 10: A private agency deployed by the municipal corporation to manage garbage is trying out an innovative way to persuade people to throw waste into the bins.

They are planting saplings around bins placed at various places in the city.

The Swachha Bhubaneswar Abhijan Facebook page created by Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) was aimed to reach as many people as possible to create awareness among them through social media.

It has been three weeks since the launch of the Facebook page and it has only around 250 likes. However, its poor content failed to attract more people to share their views and suggest ideas.

The BMC had planned to make the community page an interactive forum for people to discuss with the officials about different matters pertaining to cleanliness.

Their target was to make it like that of the community of the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack police that has garnered a lot of popularity. But the BMC’s page has failed in every respect.

“We will tag other popular pages on Facebook so that the followers of those pages come to know about our initiative. We hope the people will like this page and it will become popular,” said mayor A.N. Jena.

Suvendu Mohapatra of Jagruti, the private agency that is planting sapling around dustbins, said they had started the exercise at several places in Bapuji Nagar, Kharavela Nagar and Saheed Nagar. They would carry it out in as many places as possible.

Jagruti has placed over 300 1,000-litre bins and 200 3.5-cubic metre containers in 26 wards for garbage collection.

“We have seen people, instead of dumping garbage into the dustbins, throw it towards the bins from a distance. Consequently, the garbage gets strewn around and creates an unhygienic atmosphere in the area. We hope our new method will work and people will stop the practice,” said Mohapatra.

The BMC has engaged three private agencies to ensure cleanliness in the city. The corporation manages the sanitation in 10 of the 67 wards.

People staying in areas near garbage bins have appreciated the move.

“This is a good initiative. Now, we are going near the bin and throwing the garbage inside it. We are forced to go near the bin and throw the garbage in it. No one wants to destroy the plants around the bins,” said Sunita Mohanty, a resident of Unit-III.