Maharashtra Environment Minister Ramdas Kadam ordered immediate action on Monday after noticing that some devotees were using plastic bags, banned in the state, at the temple town of Shirdi.
Kadam visited the famous Saibaba temple at Shirdi in Ahmednagar district on Monday.
On his orders, officials of the Shirdi Municipal Council recovered a fine of Rs 5,000 each from two shop keepers who provided plastic carry bags to devotees.
The minister chided municipal authorities for not implementing the ban on plastic bags in the town.
Earlier, 1,200 tonnes of plastic garbage was generated in the state daily, but the amount is now halved after the ban came into effect in June, the minister told reporters.
Seven persons were arrested and 10 country-made pistols were recovered in separate police operations in Maharashtra’s Yavatmal district, a senior official said on Monday.
While nine pistols and 16 cartridges were seized from Pusad town, one pistol and two cartridges were recovered in Yavatmal city, Superintendent of Police M Rajkumar said in a press conference.
