Highlights
- Bhopal is looking to secure the first position in Swachh Survekshan 2018
- The city has begun an innovation from scrap campaign
- Apart from cleaning, the campaign aims to reduce instances of dengue
New Delhi: It is 6 am on a chilly winter morning. As the sun awaits its rise, few noises can already be heard in the streets of Bhopal, sounds of sweeping grow louder. The cleanliness crusaders are out and have begun their work like there is no tomorrow, their sole aim is to ensure that their city secures the number one rank in the upcoming Swachh Survekshan 2018. Bhopal, ranked second out of 434 cities last year, is gunning for the first position, in terms of cleanliness and sanitation. Swachh Survekshan 2018 is scheduled to begin on January 4, 2018.
On December 10, Bhopal’s Mayor Alok Sharma launched an innovative campaign to contribute towards the city’s beautification. Named ‘Kabad Se Jugaad’ which translates to innovation from scrap, the campaign will see civic officials going from door to door and shop to shop to collect scrap materials and then use these to beautify of the city. Apart from beautifying the city, the scrap collected will also be used to make necessary equipment like dustbins to ensure that the city remains clean.
A lot of scrap material just goes into landfills or junkyards. We thought that for this edition of the Swachh Survekshan, since citizen feedback is a major section, we will provide for more dustbins and beautify the city further to make sure that we secure the number one spot this year, said Priyanka Das, Municipal Commissioner, Bhopal Municipal Corporation.
As a part of the campaign, civic officials will collect items from households and shops which are no longer used by the owners. The officials have been instructed to collect everything that is unused in a house or shop. The municipal corporation is confident of securing a lot of items which can be put to use for the city’s civic betterment. Unused utensils with households also often result in unintentional accumulation of rainwater and cause mosquito borne diseases. Over the last few years, cases of dengue have been common in Bhopal. The municipal corporation is hopeful that with the removal of all scrap materials from households, may lessen the chances of dengue substantially.
Unused utensils and items can be put to several uses and the problem of water accumulation will also be significantly reduced when we remove such scrap materials from a household. We will turn scrap materials into dustbins and other beautiful artifacts which will then be placed across the city, said Mrs Das.
Bhopal’s second rank in the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan last year, comes after years of hard work by the municipal corporation, especially emphasis on waste segregation and door-to-door waste collection. The municipal corporation’s focus for the past one year has been more emphasis on waste segregation and composting and beautification of the city. The move to collect junk and turn it into something that embodies the spirit of the city and its larger understanding that nothing is wasted.
