Bucharest mayor: Shovel the snow on sidewalks or get fined!

Local companies need to shovel the snow on the sidewalks near their buildings or they will be fined, said the Bucharest interim mayor Razvan Sava quoted bu local Mediafax. The sanitation companies have to shovel the snow to clear with priority the access areas to hospitals and ambulance stations, as well as for bus and trams routes, the mayor added. The building owners, residents, or the companies that work in those buildings have the obligation to shovel snow on the sidewalks near the buildings in maximum 24 hours after the snowfall ceased, according to a decision issued by the Bucharest General Council in 2010. The fines for not complying with this rule are between RON 200 and RON 500 (EUR 44-110) for individuals and between RON 500 and RON 2,000 (EUR 110-442) for companies. Razvan Sava told the local police that they should issue fines if they discover sidewalks or streets where the snow hadn’t been cleared. About 450 streets should be cleared with priority in Bucharest. The Bucharest Police have already fined all the sanitation companies in Bucharest, which also have ongoing contracts to clear the snow in the city, for not fulfilling their obligations. The National Meteorology Administration has announced that it would continue to snow in most of the country through Tuesday. The snow can reach up to 10 centimeters in the south and south-east of Romania. Bucharest recorded on Tuesday a temperature of minus 7 degrees Celsius. Removing snow on Romania’s public roads costs EUR 50 mln Diana Mesesan, diana@romania-insider.com