Indore (Madhya Pradesh): More than 67 establishments at Sarwate bus stand were fined on the spot on Saturday for encroachment on footpaths and roads, conducting business without municipal licences, spreading garbage and maintaining unhygienic conditions. A total of over Rs 1.45 lakh was collected as penalties.
Acting under the direction of special judicial magistrate (municipal magistrate) Mukesh Gupta, the Indore Municipal Corporation carried out a major enforcement drive. The action was conducted jointly by teams from the IMC department along with the municipal mobile court.
Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargav and commissioner Shivam Verma said that the campaign aimed to ensure clean and safe food and beverages for citizens, while also controlling adulteration, unhygienic practices and unauthorized encroachments.
Officials said that illegal sheds, roadside stalls and unauthorized structures were removed during the operation. The mobile court imposed fines immediately to deter further violations.
Committees urged to use clay idols and 3R-based pandals
The Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) has announced a special initiative to make this year’s Ganesh Utsav clean, green, and environmentally sustainable. A meeting of Ganesh Pandal Committees held on Saturday in which various decisions were taken.
Addressing the gathering, additional commissioner Rohit Sisonia appealed to pandal organisers to adopt the principles of 3R – Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle in the construction of pandals. He urged committees to completely avoid the use of plastic and thermocol, calling them extremely harmful to the environment, and instead use recycled and reusable materials for decoration and structures.
He further emphasized the use of eco-friendly clay idols of Lord Ganesha instead of Plaster of Paris (POP) idols, noting that POP is non-biodegradable and causes serious damage to water bodies during immersion. The Municipal Corporation announced that committees adopting eco-friendly practices in pandal design and idol use will be honoured by the civic body.
“Indore has always been a model city for cleanliness and environmental protection. Continuing this tradition, our aim is to make Ganesh Utsav not only a festival of faith and devotion but also a message of sustainability for the entire nation,” Sisonia said. He also appealed to committees to ensure that all celebrations, decorations, and immersion practices are in harmony with environmental norms.
