Municipal Commissioners have been instructed to make necessary arrangements for a safe Diwali celebration
It is suggested that the use of natural flowers for decoration should be encouraged instead of plastic materials
He reviewed the progress of various development projects and asked for their timely and quality completion
Chandigarh, November 7:
The government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann is committed to making the state pollution-free. Giving this information, Punjab Local Government Minister Balkar Singh said that the Punjab government is committed to celebrating a garbage- and pollution-free and safe Diwali in the state.
During the meeting conducted through video conferencing with all Municipal commissioners at the Municipal Bhawan today, Balkar Singh directed the Municipal Corporation officials to give special priority to cleanliness in their respective cities to celebrate ‘Swachh Diwali and Shubh Diwali’ and to support the government’s efforts.
Cabinet Minister directed the officials to ensure a clean, environment-friendly, and garbage-free Diwali. He also stated that single-use plastic items should not be used in their respective cities during the Diwali festival. Market associations, trade associations, resident welfare associations, and ward committees should be sensitized, and self-help groups, NGOs, youth clubs, and civic groups should be involved in this campaign.
Balkar Singh said that awareness should be created among the people to use local products and alternatives to single-use plastic on the occasion of Diwali. He directed the officials to provide face masks, eye protection glasses, and local products to celebrate Diwali while taking special care of Safai Mitras. He also said that RRR (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) centers should be made operational quickly. He appealed to the citizens of the state to show their commitment to celebrating a clean Diwali through mygov.app. He encouraged citizens to take an oath to celebrate a clean Diwali and make necessary arrangements to deal with any untoward incident in the cities on the occasion of Diwali.
Local Government Minister further stated that the condition of not using plastic bags and other single-use plastics, keeping dry waste in bags and not littering should be observed at the time of allotment of stalls for the Diwali fair. He also emphasized the collection of dry waste from the fairgrounds and special arrangements for cleaning the grounds after the end of the fair, avoiding the use of plastic films for the decoration of sweets and gifts in shops, and promoting the use of natural flowers instead of plastic decoration materials. Special arrangements should be made to collect flower waste from religious places and flower shops/stalls.
