Days ahead of the installation of Lord Ram's idol in Ayodhya Ram Mandir, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), on Thursday, announced that it will conduct its cleaning campaign in temples across the city until January 22. According to senior officials, the civic body is slated to carry out its deep cleaning drive at three temples of each ward on a daily basis till January 22. Taking forward the deep cleaning drive — which was launched by the BMC in early December — across the state, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had flagged off the ‘Maha Swachhta Abhiyan’ from Gateway of India on December 31. As part of this drive, wherein cleaning works are carried out between 6.30 am and 2 pm during the weekends, the BMC undertakes washing and sweeping of city roads on a ward-wise basis. In the run up to the January 22 ceremony at Ayodhya, according to the BMC, the Chief Minister directed the civic body to extend the deep cleaning drive to the city's temple premises. "Additional Municipal Commissioner (Western Suburbs) Dr. Sudhakar Shinde has said that a thorough cleaning campaign will be carried out every day till January 22, 2024 in the premises of temples under the jurisdiction of the BMC. At least three major temples in each administrative division are to be selected at the local level," read a notice issued by the civic body on Thursday. The notice also appealed to all citizens to participate in the temple cleaning drive. Earlier, in January, the BMC had announced that the civic education department was slated to organise a slew of contests on the theme of 'Prabhu Sri Ram' between January 10 - 17. Helmed by Guardian Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha, the announcement came despite the opposition's flak to the move, who deemed it the saffronisation of education in municipal schools.
