JANUARY 20®After garbage, posters are the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's next target. Zero Poster Day, to be observed on January 26, will attempt to cleanse walls and public places in the city of posters, said Additional Municipal Commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad.Even political parties will not be spared, claimed Gaikwad. At a meeting of deputy municipal commissioners, ward officers, and officers of the solid waste management and health departments, he exhorted them to take stern measures against offenders. ``I have instructed all ward officers to fine the offenders and prosecute them under the Defacement of Public Properties Act. Most posters and banners are pasted on public walls during the night. I have also ordered ward officers to crack down on those institutes and organisations which the posters publicise,'' said Gaikwad. Action will also be taken against political parties if they paste posters on public walls during their election campaigns.The BMC also plans to remove garbage from slums lining suburban railway tracks. All ward officers have been instructed to carry out a detailed survey of slums beside rail tracks, especially on the Central Railway, between January 23 and 29. From February 1, the BMC will strive to maintain cleanliness by adopting a ``focussed approach''for each slum on the railway lines.Gaikwad pointed out that while these slums were cleaned employing innovative means (in some slums, for instance, donkeys were used to remove the garbage as no pick up vehicle could reach the interiors) during the Zero Garbage Day campaign, heaps of garbage have reappeared. Gaikwad admitted that certain slums were not covered sincerely enough. ``I agree that our campaign failed to sensitise slum dwellers to the hazards of living in filthy environs. The survey will find out the additional facilities that the BMC needs to provide them to bring about a change in their habits,'' he said.
