The Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation sealed 58 shops and imposed fines totalling ₹4.36 lakh during a citywide sanitation enforcement drive conducted across all 10 municipal zones on Thursday.
The inspections followed directions from GVMC Commissioner Ketan Garg to intensify action against commercial establishments violating sanitation norms. Officials inspected 80 establishments during the drive. Of these, 58 shops were sealed, while the remaining 22 establishments were fined.
The violations included dumping waste in public places, littering on roads and in drains, using prohibited plastic materials and breaching other sanitation regulations. The action places commercial waste practices under closer municipal scrutiny as the civic body seeks to prevent waste from entering public spaces and drainage networks.
Madhurawada recorded the highest number of closures, with 16 shops sealed and fines totalling ₹94,000. In the East zone, officials sealed 14 shops and imposed fines of ₹43,000. Eight establishments in the North zone attracted penalties totalling ₹55,500.
Authorities sealed two shops each in Bheemili and the South Zone, with fines of ₹40,000 and ₹58,500, respectively. Five shops were sealed in the West zone and fined ₹37,500. Pendurthi and Gajuwaka each recorded three sealed establishments, with penalties of ₹39,500 and ₹30,500, respectively.
The civic body also sealed one shop in Aganampudi and imposed a fine of ₹15,000. In Anakapalli, four shops were sealed and fined ₹22,500. The zone-wise action indicates that the enforcement exercise covered both major commercial areas and peripheral parts of the municipal jurisdiction.
Garg said cleanliness and public hygiene were among the civic body’s top priorities. He instructed zonal commissioners and public health officials to take stringent action against establishments found disposing of waste indiscriminately.
The commissioner advised commercial establishments to store waste in dustbins and hand it over daily to Clean Andhra Pradesh, or CLAP, vehicles instead of dumping it on roads or in drains. This places responsibility on businesses to retain waste safely before collection and links enforcement with the city’s scheduled waste-collection system.
Officials were also directed to strengthen waste-collection mechanisms and closely monitor the operations of CLAP vehicles. The instructions indicate that the corporation’s response will involve both action against establishments and closer oversight of the collection chain.
Garg warned that negligence in maintaining cleanliness would not be tolerated and said the enforcement drive would continue.
