Mega Swachh drive in city on the cards

Hyderabad: The GHMC proposes to conduct a large-scale awareness drives for better implementation of Swachh and sanitation programmes in the city and also to make people more responsible, said Mayor Bonthu Rammohan here on Thursday. The civic staff should transform themselves into Swachh activists and make people more aware of their role in the implementation of the Swachh programmes.

Addressing a review meeting on the implementation of Swachh programmes attended by Swachh awardees, which was attended by GHMC Commissioner M Dana Kishore, additional commissioners and zonal commissioners, he suggested levy of fines on those obstructing Swachh programmes, and also wherever the regulations are violated.

Rammohan called upon officials to double their efforts to improve sanitation, cleaning of public toilets, collection of waste from houses and other programmes. He pointed out that the residents of Mumbai and Indore were wary of violating civic regulations and tough penalties by the civic body. He wanted such scenario in the city of Hyderabad as well.

The Mayor stated that the Swachh programmes should not be confined only to sanitation and medical department staff, but every GHMC staffer should be an active participant in them. He noted that the civic body was involved in the implementation of basic facilities like flyovers without traffic signals, construction of underpass, double bedroom houses, re-carpeting of roads, management of solid waste, unlike other cities in the country.

Dana Kishore said more attention can be paid to creation of basic facilities only if the sanitation programmes were implemented moré effectively. For this, he stated, at least 100 persons in every ward would be made Swachh activists. He advised the Swachh awardees to intimate through their tabs details about the time of dumping in open garbage points, cleaning of toilets and sweeping.

The GHMC chief stated that an app (DMT daily monitoring tool) has been created for monitoring the services and facilities. Nano cars with special cameras to inspect the Swachh programmes would be introduced in the city. These vehicles would move round the main thoroughfares and send photographs of garbage and debris lying on roads and condition of roads to the control room to facilitate proper supervision.

He said a voluntary organisation for each circle has been established to conduct public awareness programmes for six months. Kishore announced that a meeting attended by intellectuals, experienced engineers and doctors would be convened soon to determine the extent of involvement of city residents in ensuring cleanliness and their participation. Among those present were GHMC Additional Commissioner Ravi Kiran, Zonal Commissioners Musharaf Ali, Shankarayya and Srinivas Reddy.