Bhubaneswar: A private hospital in Odisha capital was slapped with a fine of Rs 1 lakh for littering hazardous biomedical waste.
The penalty was imposed by Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) after Commissioner Vijay Kulange found biomedical waste dumped near a bus stop during an inspection at Vivekananda Hospital at Fire Station Square on Wednesday.
The civic body will also take action against the hospital under the clinical establishment rule, 2018.
The hospital authorities, however, said that the waste was not dumped but temporarily stacked there before being taken to a dedicated waste room.
According to the biomedical waste (management and handling) rules 2011, bo-medical waste should be segregated into containers/bags at the point of the generation prior to its storage, transportation, treatment and disposal. The Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) has also banned burning of biomedical waste as it releases toxic chemicals, such as furan and dioxin and carcinogenic substance which cause cancer.
The BMC officials said surprise checks would be conducted around private and government hospitals to stop such practices.
