With less than six weeks to go for the Mumbai Festival, a major clean-up drive has begun in India's financial and movie capital.
The Mumbai Festival is being plugged as a showcase of Indian heritage, culture, arts, food, sports, films and music.
Officials say the local Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is targeting tourist hot spots in south Mumbai like Gateway of India, Marine Drive, Colaba Causeway and some points elsewhere that are a focal point of tourists.
Apart from a touch of paint to street furniture, the roads in these places would be tarred and pavements re-made. The civic authorities have also asked utility companies to refrain from digging up roads in these places during the Jan 7-16 Mumbai Festival.
The police are also chipping in. The Anti-Drug Addict squad, Anti-Beggar and Anti-Encroacher squads have picked up more than 5,000 beggars, 63 drug addicts and peddlers as well as over 500 prostitutes from these areas.
The festival aims to coincide with the peak tourist season. Foreign tourists use Mumbai as a transit point to other parts of the country like Goa and Rajasthan. The government hopes the festival proves attractive enough for tourists to stay in the city for a few days.
The Pravasi Bharitya Day, that brings together the Indian diaspora, is also being held in Mumbai Jan 7-9.
--Indo-Asian News Service