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New Lko civic chief’s surprise drive spurs action citywide
New municipal commissioner Gaurav Kumar's surprise inspections revealed sanitation lapses, prompting immediate action and renewed enforcement across Lucknow.
Newly appointed municipal commissioner, Gaurav Kumar, launched a surprise inspection drive across several areas under Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) on Friday morning, 24 hours after taking charge. His direct intervention not only exposed several lapses in sanitation and municipal operations but also triggered a citywide response from other zonal officials.
Kumar began his inspection at 6:15 am in Viram Khand-5, Zone-4, where he reviewed drain-cleaning work and instructed officials to ensure timely and thorough cleaning. Moving swiftly, he visited the Portable Compactor Transfer Station (PCTS) in Vineet Khand-6 at 6:40 am, where he assessed waste transfer operations and issued directions to speed up the process while maintaining quality.
By 6:59 am, he had reached the material recovery facility centre in Gomti Nagar to check the segregation and recycling process. He instructed the staff to make the system more efficient and emphasised better monitoring. At 7:15 am, he reviewed the vending zone near Indira Gandhi Pratishthan (IGP), where he appreciated the general cleanliness and organisation but called for improved vendor management.
His last stop at 7:45 am was the central municipal workshop in Gomti Nagar, where he checked fuel logs of municipal vehicles and discussed the upcoming municipal headquarters project with engineers.
The commissioner’s surprise inspection had an immediate ripple effect. Zonal officials across the city began sudden checks in their areas.
In Zone-6, zonal officer Manoj Yadav found a persistent issue faced by corporators and residents over sanitation private company workers illegally placing garbage carts on the road. Cleaning and food inspector Ramjeet Pandey, present on the spot, received orders to confiscate the carts, immediately remove the staff involved, and relieve the agency supervisor from duty. The commissioner also directed the issuance of a show-cause notice to the agency.
In Zone-2, zonal officer, Shilpa Kumari, launched an anti-encroachment drive from KGMU Trauma Centre to Charak Square via Phool Mandi. The team removed illegal street vendors occupying footpaths. Locals said such enforcement had not been seen in a long time.
Residents welcomed the surprise checks, especially in areas like Zone-6 where officials were rarely seen on the ground. They hoped this momentum would lead to lasting improvements in civic amenities.
