Pune: As the Ganesh festival approaches, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has laid out comprehensive plans to maintain cleanliness across the city.

During a meeting held on the 28th of this month, Additional Commissioner Prithviraj B.P. and Deputy Commissioner Sandeep Kadam instructed officials from the 15 regional offices to ensure that the city is cleaned thoroughly in three shifts throughout the festival period.

Given the significant amount of waste generated by the festival crowds, the PMC emphasized the importance of promptly collecting garbage to prevent the city from becoming dirty.

To combat habitual littering in certain areas, the PMC will focus on monitoring and preventing garbage dumping at these chronic spots.

The recent floods have left a significant amount of silt and waste on the riverbank ghats. With the immersion of Ganpati idols set to begin soon, the PMC has ordered that these ghats be cleaned and prepared.

Citizens are being encouraged to use the immersion tanks on the ghats rather than the river, and these tanks will be cleaned, painted, and filled with fresh water.

In an eco-friendly move, the flowers and other offerings (Nirmalya) collected during the idol immersions will be composted at a designated site near Pashan Lake. This initiative is being coordinated in partnership with social organizations.

To address sanitation needs during the festival, 400 mobile toilets will be installed across the city. These will be placed along major roads to ensure they are kept clean and accessible to the public.

In a bid to promote environmentally friendly practices, the PMC will distribute a three-kilogram bag of organic fertilizer to 15,000 citizens who donate their Ganesh idols to the corporation. The distribution will be managed by the regional offices, with each office set to provide 1,000 bags.