• Local Govt Minister conducts surprise inspection of newly introduced night sweeping drive
• Don’t want to see a single wrapper, envelope or plastic bottle on roads of the holy city, says Bains
•Amritsar isn’t just a city, it’s a centre of spirituality; Cleaning it is sewa, not civic duty: Harjot Singh Bains
CHANDIGARH/AMRITSAR, JUNE 16:
Taking the CM Bhagwant Singh Mann led Punjab Government’s “Mission Clean Punjab” to streets, Local Government Minister S. Harjot Singh Bains, on Tuesday, walked the walled city lanes of Amritsar at 1AM to inspect the newly introduced night sweeping drive.
“Amritsar is not just a city, it’s a centre of spirituality,” S. Harjot Singh Bains said as sanitation teams worked around him. For the first time, cleaning here goes beyond daylight hours. A dedicated shift now runs from 10 pm to 2 am daily so roads are spotless when sangat (devotees) arrive for Amrit Vela at Sri Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple), he added.
After reviewing the drive, the Local Government Minister said that this is not a one-night show. He will conduct surprise inspections any random night, to keep the holy city immaculate.
Local Government Minister spent hours in the Walled City, walking stretches near Sri Darbar Sahib. He checked secondary garbage points for clearance, monitored door-to-door collection in narrow lanes, while stating that open dumping spots identified earlier had been removed. He also spoke to night-shift sanitation workers about challenges on the ground.
Heritage street will shine again, S. Harjot Singh Bains said, while adding that daily cleaning for key Walled City stretches. Once garbage points are gone, stray animals come off the roads next.
“I don’t want to see a single wrapper, envelope, or plastic bottle on the roads of this holy city,” Local Government Minister Harjot Singh Bains asserted, while stating that MC teams are sweeping from 10 pm to 2 am, but their work is undone when residents throw waste from balconies and rooftops. “Sanitation workers are on duty while the city sleeps. The least we can do is not trash the streets from our windows,” he said.
Amritsar’s cleanliness is not just civic duty. For a city that belongs to Guru Sahib, it is sewa, he added.
Earlier in the day, the Local Govt Minister was on the ground again since 8am with the local MLA, Mayor, Commissioner and senior officials. He conducted door-to-door inspections, heard directly from residents about gaps in the system and directed to fix issues on the spot.
S. Bains said that this is how Mission Clean Punjab runs, not from offices, but from the streets, while urging citizens to share his night inspection video to awaken collective responsibility, S. Harjot Singh Bains said, “This mission won’t be successful without public support. The cleaner Amritsar becomes, the more pilgrims and tourists it draws.”
