Mumbai, Aug 14 (PTI) Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday said toll for devotees travelling to their native places to celebrate Ganesh festival will be waived.

Chairing a review meeting of the state administration and police, Shinde directed officials to fill potholes, prune tree branches, and increase the number of artificial lakes, ahead of the 10-day festival beginning September 7.

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The chief minister directed officials to urgently fill potholes through quick-setting hardener technology and prune tree branches.

He directed civic bodies not to charge any fee from Ganesh pandals for keeping fire service vehicles on standby. He proposed a single-window system for clearing applications of Ganesh mandals.

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This year too, the toll will be waived for devotees travelling to their native places to celebrate the festival, Shinde said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)