In a bid to maintain cleanliness and stop growing littering, Kolkata Metro has decided to launch a campaign among commuters and impose a penalty up to Rs 500 as fine, official sources said on Monday.

"It has been observed in recent times that a section of commuters has been regularly littering ( gutka spitting) in the Metro premises, specially in the newly inaugurated stretch of Green Line from Howrah Maidan to Esplanade," Kolkata Metro said in a statement.

The 5.8 km stretch under the Hooghly River, which is being commercially operated, has been a hit attracting thousands of commuters daily.

" Though Metro is constantly striving for providing fast, smooth and cheapest mode of transport to commuters and also reducing the pollution level of Kolkata and adjoining areas, these commuters have been constantly making Metro premises untidy and filthy by throwing plastic bottles, spitting betel juices and gutkha."

The Metro Railway has undertaken special anti-littering drives and imposed fines o­n erring commuters in order to prevent nuisance activities on station premises.

Special awareness videos are also being shown o­n all platform TVs at different Metro stations. Litter bins have also been provided at different Metro stations along with bottle crusher machines. Metro Railway’s official social media handles are also being used to spread the awareness messages.

Special anti-littering squads have already been formed who will move from o­ne station to the other to identify the perpetrators and impose fines of Rs. 500- o­n them as per the stipulated norms.

The main objective of such drives is to restore the pride of being o­ne of the cleanest Metro systems in the country among all Amar Kolkata Metro users, said CPRO Kausik Mitra.

(With UNI Inputs)