Fergusson College Pune Municipal Corporation Mulay Concept creator Mulay with FC Road-based cobbler Sonawane, holding a pamphlet (left) that declares the contest Bharatiya Janata Party While this was on, Iinteracted with all the residents and got to know more about civic issues in the area. We have now begun construction of a new footpath and will resume the drive in Karve Nagar once this is done —Madhuri Sahastrabuddhe, BJP corporator A novel idea could see the bustling footpaths of(FC) Road cleaned up. The Rotary Club of Bibvewadi, in collaboration with the(PMC), has come up with a drive and a contest called Hum Hai Footpathi, in which the 350-odd business establishments on FC Road will each be in charge of a certain fragment of the pavement, which will be divided into 350 parts.The project, which began on November 14, is the brainchild of architect and Bibvewadi Rotary Club president Vasavi, who has an office on FC Road.Elaborating on the campaign, Mulay told Mirror, “The idea struck me sometime in June and I shared it with Madhuri Sahastrabuddhe, a PMC corporator. We ran a small pilot project in the Karve Nagar area and it turned out to be very productive, and helped us get a glimpse of other civic issues as well.”“As per the figures available with PMC, there are around 350 establishments on FC Road. So, we have requested every establishment to ensure that the part of footpath right opposite their shop or eatery is clean. The sole objective is to maintain a clean environment,” Mulay added.She added, “We insist on a specific part because when there is a sense of ownership, it helps people to take initiative. And, we plan to give them tokens of appreciation, too.”Officials from PMC and the Rotary Club will pay weekly surprise visits and give marks to every establishment based on the level of cleanliness they have maintained. The drive will continue for three months — from November 14 till February 14. Three winners will be given prizes and be interviewed on a local radio channel to create awareness in the rest of the city. All the data from the project will be with PMC which will help the administration work more efficiently on the cleanliness of the area, Mulay said.(BJP) corporator Madhuri Sahastrabuddhe, too, was enthusiastic about the project, as she said, “We had run a small pilot project from the Cummins office till Syama Prasad Mukharjee Garden in my ward in Karve Nagar. While this was on, I interacted with all the residents and got to know more about civic issues in the area. We have now begun construction of a new footpath and will resume the drive in Karve Nagar once this is done.”Adding to this, PMC chief health inspector, I S Inamdar, said, “We have reached out to all the establishments — including shops, restaurants and even hawkers — on FC road. We’ve asked them to keep dustbins outside their premises and encourage cleanliness. They are all in favour of the drive. We will be keeping continuous vigilance on the road from morning till 8 pm and officers from our department will pay surprise visits, too. Offenders will be punished as well.”Elaborating on the nature of punishment, he added, “Offenders will be fined as per fixed ‘spot fine’ rates. According to a government resolution, fines are Rs 150 for spitting, Rs 180 for littering and Rs 200 for urinating at the public places. Punitive action will be taken immediately at the spot by our health inspectors.”“Once this pilot project succeeds, we plan to extend it to more places in the city,” Inamdar asserted.Those running businesses on FC Road seemed willing to go along with the plan.Jalindar Sonawane, a cobbler on FC Road, said, “I always keep my part of the footpath clean as my customers often need to wait a while when I’m repairing their footwear.”Tushar Totare, manager at Burger King’s FC Road branch, added, “PMC officials came to visit us last week and we agreed to participate in the drive. We keep the premises clean anyway, but some customers do throw garbage outside. We will now ensure that this, too, is curbed.”Totare added that PMC had levied a fine of Rs 500 on the restaurant for the littering outside the premises. https://ssl.gstatic.com/ui/v1/icons/mail/images/cleardot.gifTushar Patil, owner of Kirti Juice Centre, said, “We encourage our customers to use the dustbin inside, but many order takeaways, eat standing outside and then throw the remains on the road. Reducing takeaways would also be a good step and PMC should keep public dustbin on the footpaths as well.”“We support such initiatives, but PMC should extend whatever help they can as well,” concluded Patil.

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