AP CM calls for mass participation

Students, employees and other sections of society urged to devote a day in month for Swachh AP

• Lauds students’ contributions towards realising the mission
• CM expresses confidence of achieving 100 per cent Swachh Andhra Pradesh before 2019
  

Guntur: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu gave a clarion call to the cross-section of society including students, employees and businessmen to devote first Saturday of every month for the cause of Swachh Andhra Pradesh and for realising the smart village concept.

Launching the Swachh Andhra Pradesh Mission at the police parade grounds here on Friday, the Chief said that needed they can skip their classes and jobs and all personal avocations for a day to participate in the mission.

He maintained that he would not rest until the mission is accomplished. As convenor of the Swachh Bharat National Committee, he had recommended to the Prime Minister to contribute 75 per cent of funds for the accomplishment of the mission nationwide while the states themselves would contribute 25 per cent.

“In the 2015-16, the construction of 15 lakh toilets in the state would be set in motion. The idea is to achieve 100 per cent Swachh Andhra Pradesh even before 2019,” the Chief Minister added.

The Chief Minister said in the next 12 to 18 months, 12 power plants by converting waste into energy would be launched in the 12 districts and 77 per cent of the garbage generated in the State would be used to generate energy from garbage.

Singapore is smaller than the proposed new capital Amaravati and the country has earned the expertise of resources management very successfully.

Naidu said the area of Singapore is just 580 square km. It expanded its borders by expanding into the sea to an extent of 180 square km. He said that AP should learn from the small country on resources management, technology tapping and keeping cities and villages clean and tidy.

The Chief Minister hinted at inclusion in the school and college syllabus, lessons on Swachh Bharat for bringing about a momentum to the mission and bringing it to its logical end. Earlier, the Chief Minister interacted with several college students by inviting some of them to the dais and asking them to spell out their views on the mission and their contribution and recommendations for involving people and realising the mission.

An excited engineering student Snigda of RVMJC college told Naidu that the mission has inspired her and her college mates to get engaged in promoting the mission by participating in an awareness campaign at Adavithakellapalem village and interacting with women of the village.

She revealed that she inspired the women to build individual toilets for themselves in the village for protecting their health and self respect. When asked how much time she would devote for the cause, she answered that she would give at least one hour every day.

Mounika of the same college considered it as a great privilege to serve the village folk. When asked how the village would benefit by the mission, she said that if every house has an individual toilet, women would encounter neither security problems nor health hazards.

She expressed confidence in the Chief Minister that the mission would be accomplished by 2019 under his stewardship. Mallikarjuna Rao of Balipudu village told the Chief Minister that he took up the challenge when he encountered in his own village,

several women answering their nature calls in the open fields. He had organised 10 youth to popularise the toilet scheme under the mission. They decided to work for 2 to 3 hours a day for the cause and transform their village into a smart village. The Chief Minister elated at the youth's initiatives asked them to start thinking about what they can do for their own villages.

Koteshwari, a student of JKC College in the city waved to Naidu signalling her desire to talk from among the audience. The Chief Minister immediately sent the microphone to her. She told Naidu that she as an NCC cadet had come across an 80-year-old woman at Brodipet in the city who lost her husband and son and was struggling to make her both ends meet.

She told the Chief Minister that the old woman needs to be covered under pension scheme for which Naidu immediately responded by asking the woman to come over to the dais and presented her Rs 25,000 cheque and also a letter sanctioning a pension of Rs 1,000 every month.

The Chief Minister complimented Koteshwari for trying to help an old and destitute lady instead of asking something for herself.Several college students Lakshmi Naidu, Narendra Mohan and Soumya also interacted with the Chief Minister.Naidu also interacted with self help group women in the city who shared with him their efforts to set in motion the construction of 6,000 toilets in the suburban areas in the city.

He also complimented Municipal Administration Minister P Narayana and Director of Municipalities Kanna Babu for achieving an impossible feat of constructing 6,000 toilets in a span of one month.Swachh Andhra Pradesh brand ambassador Manchu Lakshmi spoke highly of the Chief Minister and the Prime Minister's Swachh Bharat Mission.

She inspired the youth to get involved in the mission.Prominent among those who participated include Ministers P Pulla Rao, Ravella Kishore Babu, MP Rayapati Sambasiva Rao, MLAs Sravan Kumar, Modugula Venugopala Krishna and Dhoolipali Narendra. District Collector Kantilal Dande presided over the event.

Joint Collector Cherukuri Sridhar and his team coordinated the arrangements. Elaborate bandobust arrangements were made by urban SP S S Tripathi.