As Haryana govt promotes Kurukshetra as tourist destination, sanitation goes for a toss

Nitish Sharma

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Kurukshetra, February 9

While the state government is promoting Kurukshetra as a major religious tourist destination, poor sanitation conditions, reflected in the recent Swachh Survekshan ranking in which Thanesar city was ranked 414th, have been a matter of concern.

Insanitary conditions in market areas and residential areas; poor door-to-door garbage collection and disposal; unclean public toilets and poor source segregation are the areas which the Municipal Council needs to focus on.

The decline

In Swachh Survekshan-2023, Thanesar’s national ranking was 414th, while it was ranked 20th in the state. In 2022, the national ranking was 178th and the state ranking was 14th.

Posts of MC workers vacant

The government is promoting Kurukshetra as a tourist destination and has been claiming that crores of rupees are being spent in the development of the city but the situation on the ground level is completely different. The posts of sanitation workers are lying vacant in the MC. With vacant posts, how will the government improve sanitation? Ashok Arora, Congress leader

In Swachh Survekshan-2023, Thanesar’s national ranking was 414th, while it was ranked 20th in the state. In 2022, the national ranking was 178th and the state ranking was 14th.

Naresh Bhardwaj, a local resident, said, “We have been demanding a proper garbage collection and its scientific disposal for a long time, but to no avail. Without this, sanitation level can’t be improved. There is a ban on single-use plastic items, but still these are being used and littered around. There is a need to increase community participation. Religious organisations and educational institutions should take the responsibility to manage their waste. The Municipal Council should go for decentralised waste management and focus on source segregation for better results.”

Yogesh Sharma, Jannayak Janta Party leader, said, “It is a matter of shame that the holy city was ranked 414th in the survey. A major reason behind the situation is corrupt practices in the civic body and the lack of intent of keeping the city clean. We have been raising the matter but we are yet to see desired results. Instead of improving, the ranking has slipped drastically.”

Congress leader Ashok Arora said, “The government is promoting Kurukshetra as a tourist destination and has been claiming that crores of rupees are being spent in the development of the city but the situation at the ground level is completely different. The posts of sanitation workers are lying vacant in the MC. With vacant posts, how will the government improve sanitation? If such a huge budget is being spent in a city’s development, it should have figured among top cities in the survey.”

Meanwhile, Devender Narwal, Executive Officer, Thanesar Municipal Council, said, “The processing of waste is a major component but no site was available for processing. Five to six sites were identified but every time, some law and order situation used to rise. Besides this, the shortage of staff has been another major issue. Retirements, transfers and vacant posts in the sanitation branch resulted in poor monitoring of sanitation. All efforts are being made and discussions are being held to improve the sanitation and rankings.”