Amritsar, 16 June (H.S.) Taking the Punjab Government’s “Mission Clean Punjab” campaign to the streets, Local Government Minister Harjot Singh Bains conducted a late-night inspection of the newly introduced night sweeping drive in the walled city of Amritsar at 1 am on Tuesday.

The minister walked through lanes near Sri Harmandir Sahib and reviewed the sanitation arrangements being carried out during the dedicated night shift from 10 pm to 2 am. He said Amritsar is not just a city but a centre of spirituality, and cleanliness here is a form of sewa. The night cleaning drive has been launched to ensure that roads remain clean when devotees arrive for Amrit Vela at Sri Darbar Sahib.

Bains said the initiative was not a one-night exercise and that surprise inspections would be conducted on random nights to keep the holy city clean. During the inspection, he checked secondary garbage points, reviewed door-to-door collection in narrow lanes and interacted with night-shift sanitation workers to understand the challenges faced by them.

The minister said that Heritage Street and other key stretches of the walled city would be cleaned daily. He added that once garbage points are removed, the next focus would be on reducing the presence of stray animals on roads.

“I do not want to see a single wrapper, envelope or plastic bottle on the roads of this holy city,” Bains said, adding that sanitation workers clean the streets while the city sleeps, but their efforts are affected when residents throw waste from balconies and rooftops.

Earlier in the day, Bains also carried out ground inspections with the local MLA, Mayor, Commissioner and senior officials. He visited residents door-to-door, heard their concerns and directed officials to resolve issues on the spot. Bains urged citizens to support the mission, saying that a cleaner Amritsar would attract more pilgrims and tourists.

Hindusthan Samachar / GURSHARAN SINGH