Patna Municipal Corporation building

The civic body on Thursday cracked the whip on 86 shopkeepers in the New Capital circle for not paying heed to its directive to keep trash bins and collected Rs 8,600 as fine.

Shopkeepers flouting the directive had to pay a penalty of Rs 100 each. Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) commissioner Kuldip Narayan had issued an order on July 22, directing the owners of stores, roadside carts and other commercial establishments to keep dustbins. It stated that defaulters would be liable to penalty of Rs 100.

Sheshank Shekhar Sinha, additional municipal commissioner (in charge), revenue and sanitation, said: “Shopkeepers often dump their garbage in public places. According to an order issued by the municipal commissioner, the shopkeepers found responsible for such littering can be penalised now. The sanitary inspector in each ward has been authorised to check if shopkeepers are keeping dustbins and penalise the offenders.”

Shopkeepers, on the other hand, claimed that they dumped the trash in the open because of lack of public vats. “The nearest public trash bin from my shop is a kilometre away. If the corporation places public vats in proximity of shops, why would any storeowner dump waste in the open?” asked Rajesh Kumar, a shopkeeper at Ram Nagari Colony in Ashiana Nagar under the New Capital circle.

In a bid to make the city spick and span and improve its financial condition, the cash-strapped PMC has of late undertaken various measures to crack down on unregulated commercial activities. The crackdown on shopkeepers for not keeping trash bins is one among them.

The civic body has prohibited free distribution of poly bags. The minimum price of each bag now is Rs 5.

Several residents still appear to be unaware of the move. “When I went to buy vegetables at Rajapur Pul yesterday (on Wednesday), the vendor asked for cloth bag or something else for carrying the vegetables. He told me that polythene bags had been banned in the city,” said Niraj Kumar, a resident of Anand Puri.

The civic body would also start a drive to implement a recent order related to regulated sale of meat and chicken. The PMC commissioner issued an order on July 23, prohibiting sale of meat and fish in the open. It states that in pursuance of Section 345 of Bihar Municipal Act, 2007, no animal should be butchered in front of others and all meat shops should be properly covered.

Rainwater order

A high court division bench on Thursday warned the PMC commissioner that if rainwater is not drained out within 48 hours of downpour, he would be prosecuted for his failure to comply its orders.