Pune: The city police and the PMC will launch a weeklong drive on Thursday to clear illegal hoardings and banners, and free up footpaths.“We will not tolerate illegal hoardings and banners in the city. These will be taken down immediately. We will also file cases against people whose names or other details appear on posters and banners,” said Pune commissioner of police (CP) Amitesh Kumar.Kumar said special attention would be given to busy roads such as FC Road, JM Road and Baner. “We will take continuous action against illegal hawkers on these roads. Footpaths will be cleared within the next week,” he said.The Pune municipal commissioner, Naval Kishore Ram, said, “There are over 22,000 hawkers in the city.”He said, “Illegal hoardings and banners are an eyesore. We will remove them.”Ram said, “There are around 3,000 legal hoardings in the city. We will conduct their structural audit before monsoon to avert any mishap.”Pune CP Kumar said, “The police and the PMC will identify open spaces in the city and unclaimed vehicles parked on roads will be shifted there. We will remove all encroachments from roads. It will help the police and the civic officials redress traffic bottlenecks,” he said.
