MC staff told to ensure cleanliness, complete ban on single-use plastic in Amritsar

The newly appointed Amritsar Municipal Corporation (MC) Commissioner Bikramjit Singh Shergill has set citywide cleanliness and a complete ban on single-use plastic as his top priorities. Acting on his directions, Additional Commissioner Surinder Singh chaired a meeting with senior officials of the Health Department on Monday.

During the meeting, the Additional Commissioner instructed officials and sanitation workers to go beyond their routine duties to ensure a robust cleanliness system across the city. He also directed them to launch awareness campaigns among residents and to strictly enforce penalties against those using single-use plastic.

Health department officials informed that all Chief Sanitary Inspectors and Sanitary Inspectors were regularly supervising cleanliness in their respective areas and issuing challans with fines against individuals and shopkeepers caught violating the plastic ban.

The meeting was attended by Health Officers Dr Kiran, Dr Yogesh Arora, Chief Sanitary Officer Malkeet Singh, Ranjit Singh, Chief Sanitary Inspector Vijay Gill, along with other senior officials.

Speaking on the occasion, Additional Commissioner Surinder Singh said Amritsar, being a sacred city was thronged by daily by lakhs of devotees and tourists, must reflect a clean and welcoming image.

“It is responsibility of the Municipal Corporation to ensure daily road cleaning and prompt garbage lifting so that visitors carry back the impression of a clean and beautiful Amritsar,” he remarked.

He said the corporation was already running a special campaign against single-use plastic in line with the government guidelines. Despite regular challans, fines and confiscation of plastic goods, many people still used such banned items, he said.

Singh cautioned that plastic bags not only damaged the sewerage system, but also posed a serious risk to animals and the environment.

Appealing to residents, Surinder Singh said, “We need the cooperation of every resident to maintain cleanliness in the city. Everyone must stop using single-use plastic so that Amritsar can truly shine as a heritage and religious city.”