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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Authorities in the southeastern Sulaimani town of Darbandikhan have installed surveillance cameras and introduced heavy fines in an effort to curb littering in public areas, a town official said on Monday.
'We have installed surveillance cameras in five locations in the Darbandikhan district and hung warning signs that garbage and waste should not be thrown in those places,' municipality head Zryan Sabir told Rudaw.
The locations in question were previously used as dumping grounds, which Sabir condemned, saying 'the municipality has now cleaned up those areas and prohibited further waste disposal there.'
Authorities have installed signs at the locations which read: 'Please do not throw dirt and waste in this place, otherwise you will face legal punishment and fines. For your information, this place is under camera surveillance.'
Fines for violators range from 100,000 to 500,000 Iraqi dinars (approximately $71 to $357), according to Sabir.
The monitored locations include a local fruit market, an industrial area, and other public spaces.
Darbandikhan is one of several towns in Sulaimani province adopting surveillance cameras as a new measure to reduce public dumping and better protect the environment.
In 2019, the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) environment board passed a decree mandating punishment for polluters. However, the board has repeatedly complained about its lack of enforcement powers, citing other government bodies as responsible for implementation.
Meanwhile, uncollected waste in the Kurdistan Region is either dumped in landfills or burned, releasing hazardous toxins and greenhouse gases such as methane into the atmosphere.
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