City eyes better rank in Swachh Survekshan-2024 | Bhubaneswar News
Bhubaneswar: Eyeing an improved slot in the 9th edition of Swachh Survekshan-2024, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has intensified its activities to generate more awareness among people, especially to garner more votes.
The BMC, in this endeavour, has launched a digital campaign asking people to scan a QR code provided in the image and vote for Bhubaneswar. BMC says, “Your voice matters,” knowing clearly that citizen feedback plays a crucial role in the survey.
In the last edition of the mega cleanliness survey, the city improved its ranking significantly, grabbing the 34th position while competing with 446 other cities. In the 2022 edition of Swachh Survekshan, the city was ranked 80th, competing with 500 cities.
“We completely transformed the waste management strategy of the city in the past years. By adopting a decentralised way of waste management, we are efficiently maintaining the cleanliness of the city,” mayor Sulochana Das said.
Das said they also conducted two-time sweeping activities of major thoroughfares in the city while continuing with mechanical sweeping of different arteries. “We urge the citizens to vote for the hard work of thousands of municipal workers,” she said.
Experts, however, believed that the mismanagement of the waste by the civic body at the temporary transit station in Gadakana last year might affect the rank of Bhubaneswar in the mega cleanliness survey of the country.
“It is not easy to forget how the entire city smelled foul due to the mismanagement of the waste at the temporary dump yard at Gadakana. Though the situation was managed somehow, one could see heaps of garbage lying at the site even now,” urban planner Piyush Rout said.
Environmentalist Bijay Mishra said Bhubaneswar might get some recognition for its solid waste management, but the wastewater management is not up to the mark. “Dumping in drains is still rampant, which needs to be checked,” he said.
Mishra said the open dumping in drains, especially in the natural ones, poses a significant risk of urban flooding also. “The civic body should come up with a futuristic and comprehensive sanitation plan for Bhubaneswar,” he said.
The BMC, in this endeavour, has launched a digital campaign asking people to scan a QR code provided in the image and vote for Bhubaneswar. BMC says, “Your voice matters,” knowing clearly that citizen feedback plays a crucial role in the survey.
In the last edition of the mega cleanliness survey, the city improved its ranking significantly, grabbing the 34th position while competing with 446 other cities. In the 2022 edition of Swachh Survekshan, the city was ranked 80th, competing with 500 cities.
“We completely transformed the waste management strategy of the city in the past years. By adopting a decentralised way of waste management, we are efficiently maintaining the cleanliness of the city,” mayor Sulochana Das said.
Das said they also conducted two-time sweeping activities of major thoroughfares in the city while continuing with mechanical sweeping of different arteries. “We urge the citizens to vote for the hard work of thousands of municipal workers,” she said.
Experts, however, believed that the mismanagement of the waste by the civic body at the temporary transit station in Gadakana last year might affect the rank of Bhubaneswar in the mega cleanliness survey of the country.
“It is not easy to forget how the entire city smelled foul due to the mismanagement of the waste at the temporary dump yard at Gadakana. Though the situation was managed somehow, one could see heaps of garbage lying at the site even now,” urban planner Piyush Rout said.
Environmentalist Bijay Mishra said Bhubaneswar might get some recognition for its solid waste management, but the wastewater management is not up to the mark. “Dumping in drains is still rampant, which needs to be checked,” he said.
Mishra said the open dumping in drains, especially in the natural ones, poses a significant risk of urban flooding also. “The civic body should come up with a futuristic and comprehensive sanitation plan for Bhubaneswar,” he said.
