Swachhotsav: Women delegation from HP visits Chandigarh

Chandigarh, March 31

A delegation of office-bearers of various self-help groups (SHGs) from Himachal Pradesh visited the city to celebrate “Swachhotsav”, a festival of cleanliness, and learn about the best practices of the Municipal Corporation (MC). The visit was organised to promote the convergence of the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) and the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihood Mission (DAY-NULM).

The delegation was welcomed with flowers and mementoes made from recycled items packed in hand-made cloth bags. All standees and banners used during the event were biodegradable and made up of cloth in an effort to promote zero-waste event and sustainability.

During the event, MC officials briefed about the projects of the civic body in a detailed presentation on best practices and functions, including solid waste management, processing of construction & demolition (C&D) waste and sewerage treatment plant.

The delegates also visited various projects handled by local self-help groups working with 3R projects such as “Arpan”, which makes incense sticks (agarbattis) from waste flowers, “Jagruti”, self-help group that makes herbal Holi colours from floral waste, “Bartan Bhandar” and a self-help group making art from waste materials. The delegates praised the work of SHGs and appreciated their work for reducing and reusing waste materials. They also visited a gaushala and saw the maintenance of community toilets handled by SHGs.

The delegates also appreciated the beauty of Chandigarh, including its roads and clean environment. They praised the cleanliness of the city and the solid waste management system, along with other projects of the MC.