#DontLitter: Two Tourists Made To Go Back 80kms To Pick Up The Trash They Dumped On The Road

The next time you toss something out of your car window or litter, remember, it may just come back to haunt you. Littering is a crime under the Indian Penal Code, Section 279. Unfortunately, throwing trash on the road is still a common practice in India.

Last week, two young men in Karnataka were tracked down and made to return to a spot they had littered with pizza boxes in Madikeri.

Coming to the incident, social activist and General Secretary of the Kodagu Tourism Association, Madetira Thimmaiah spotted the empty pizza boxes roadside. He found a bill that had the offender’s phone number. On being contacted, the person apologised but refused to return to the spot, saying he was roughly 80km away and already outside the Kodagu region.

With the help of the local police, he launched a social media campaign, and the litterer’s phone number was shared online. After he was flooded with calls and messages to clean up the mess he had made, the person and his companion gave in and returned to Madikeri to pick up their trash.

It's a unique solution to Coorg's trash problem and Tourism Association had already been keeping a close watch in the area to curb the garbage menace in hill station.