Varanasi: Keeping in mind Mahashivratri festival on Feb 15 and one-day Panchkroshi Yatra on the occasion, Mayor Ashok Kumar Tiwari set deadline of Feb 12 to remove potholes and plastic roads from city roads and lanes on the route. The decision was taken on proposal of member Rajesh Kumar Yadav ‘Challu’ in the executive meeting.Special cleanliness drive will be carried out on the entire Panchkroshi route within the Varanasi Municipal Corporation limits and at ‘padavs’ (halts) along the route. All routes in the city leading to major Shiva temples like Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Mahamrityunjay and others will be made pothole-free by Feb 12. Water works and electricity departments were directed to work jointly to immediately fix faulty street lights and remove problem of sewer overflow.Municipal commissioner Himanshu Nagpal directed water works chief and executive engineers concerned to conduct on-site inspections. If construction work was found incomplete on any lane or road, or path obstructed by a sewer pipeline, it should be repaired immediately so that devotees did not face accident or trouble amid the heavy crowd. This time, there will be special emphasis on cleanliness arrangements, and goal is to keep the entire pilgrimage route ‘plastic-free’.
