Mayor launches month-long cleanliness drive

Delhi Mayor Raja Iqbal Singh on Friday launched a month-long citywide campaign, ‘Delhi’s Freedom from Garbage’, with a major cleanliness drive in South Delhi. The campaign commenced with an intensive four-hour sanitation effort over a 10-km stretch from Green Park to Bhatti Mines, involving hundreds of citizens, civic officials and elected representatives.

The event saw active participation from MLA Satish Upadhyay, MCD Commissioner Ashwani Kumar, Deputy Mayor Jai Bhagwan Yadav, Standing Committee Chairperson Satya Sharma, other MLAs, zonal and additional commissioners, councillors, sanitation workers and representatives from RWAs, NGOs and religious institutions.

MLA Satish Upadhyay, under whose constituency the campaign was launched, said, “A country can truly progress only when it is clean and healthy. I thank the Mayor and MCD staff for this special drive towards a clean and green Delhi.” He linked the initiative to the broader vision of the Swachh Bharat Mission led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Mayor Iqbal Singh, who joined participants in sweeping garbage-laden areas along the route, emphasised the campaign’s aim of transforming Delhi into a cleaner and greener city. “Delhi is like our larger family. With collective effort from the government, MCD, and citizens, we will fulfil the vision of a clean capital under the leadership of CM Rekha Gupta,” he said.

On the first day of the drive, more than 15 garbage-prone locations across eight wards were cleaned, including Aurobindo Marg, the IIT crossing, Lado Sarai Chowk and SSN Marg. The initiative will now be extended across all 12 MCD zones throughout August, covering residential areas, markets, schools, slums and public toilets.

The campaign also encourages participation from schools and institutions to ensure long-term improvements in sanitation across the city.