Mirror, mirror on the wall: Rohtak’s new weapon against public urination

Rohtak: After fines, warning boards, cleanliness drives and repeated appeals failed to change public habits, Rohtak's municipal corporation is trying something different: making people watch themselves.In an unusual experiment that combines surveillance technology with behavioural psychology, the corporation has installed CCTV cameras at chronic garbage dumping points and large mirrors at locations notorious for public urination, hoping that the fear of being watched, or just seeing one's own reflection, will discourage offenders.Municipal commissioner Narendra Kumar said they had identified several locations where garbage continued to be dumped despite repeated drives. In the first phase, CCTV cameras have been installed at D-Park, Raj Cinema and Sheila Bypass Chowk, with additional locations to be brought under surveillance soon.Warning boards at these sites inform residents that the areas are under CCTV monitoring. Besides municipal penalties, the corporation plans to display footage of violators on LED screens installed at Delhi Bypass and Medical Mor. "The objective is not merely punitive action, but to also instil a sense of civic responsibility," Kumar said.The more unusual intervention, however, lies beneath the Sheila Bypass. The site had earlier been beautified with wall paintings, but people continued to urinate there and deface the walls with posters. The civic body has now installed a large mirror along the wall.Officials say the idea is rooted in a simple psychological principle: people are less likely to engage in socially undesirable behaviour when they feel observed or are confronted with their own image."The intervention is based on a simple psychological principle. Individuals tend to avoid such acts when they feel observed or see themselves. We hope it will help preserve the cleanliness and aesthetics of public spaces," Kumar said.