Mayor wields the broom during clean-up drive in Indore

Declaring that cleanliness efforts should take the form of a mass-based campaign, mayor Krishna Murari Moghe said sanitation-related issues could not be resolved without the cooperation of residents.

Declaring that cleanliness efforts should take the form of a mass-based campaign, mayor Krishna Murari Moghe said sanitation-related issues could not be resolved without the cooperation of residents.

Mayor-Krishna-Murari-Moghe-sweeps-a-street-in-Usha-Nagar-during-a-sanitation-drive-carried-out-in-several-localities-on-Saturday-morning

Moghe's remarks came shortly after he himself wielded the broom during a citywide sanitation drive organised under the Swachhta Abhiyaan on Saturday morning. No matter how many resources the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) devotes, the city cannot be kept clean without the assistance and involvement of residents, he said.

Moghe urged residents to ensure that garbage was dumped only in waste bins during the clean-up organised at all 69 municipal wards.

The mayor swept the streets at Usha Nagar and Timber Market on Dhar Road. He was accompanied by municipal commissioner Rakesh Singh and, at various points, MLA Malini Gaud, BJP national general secretary P Murlidhar Rao and local corporators.

Addressing a well-attended gathering at Pancham ki Fel, Moghe recounted an incident during Raghwendra Singh's tenure as district collector. "During an inspection, we were just commenting on how clean a backlane was when a woman walked out of her house and threw a bucketful of garbage," he recalled.

Dustbins were distributed to residents during Moghe's visit to Rambali Nagar during the sanitation drive that began at 10:30am and lasted for the entire day.

The IMC and the district administration have pulled up their 'sanitation socks' after the high court expressed its dissatisfaction over the state of sanitation during a hearing on a petition on ineffective solid waste management filed by activist Kishore Kodwani.

Fact file
No of dumpers deployed: 79
Total number of trips by dumpers: 2,200
Waste dumped at trenching ground*: 1,250 metric tonnes (including construction debris)
Average waste collection: 900MT per day

*Officials said another 300 metric tonnes was expected to be picked up by night.