Kurukshetra: Civic bodies adopt one ward each in ‘swachh’ initiative

Nitish Sharma

Kurukshetra, April 8

To improve sanitation, one ward each has been adopted by civic bodies under the Swachh Ward campaign in Kurukshetra.

Under the drive, civic bodies will focus on segregating waste at source; information, education and communication (IEC) activities; motivating people to recycle, reuse and reduce waste; and issuing challans for the use of polybags and littering.

While Thanesar Municipal Cou ncil has adopted Ward 1, Ismailabad Municipal Committee has adopted Ward 4, Ladwa Municipal Committee has adopted Ward 10, Pehowa Municipal Committee Ward 1 and Shahabad Municipal Committee has taken Ward 11 under its wing.

Issues of poor sanitation and garbage lifting have been raised time and again by local residents. 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.

Focus of K’shetra swachh ward drive

Under the drive, civic bodies will focus on segregating waste at source; information, education and communication (IEC) activities; motivating people to recycle, reuse and reduce waste; and issuing challans for the use of polybags and littering.

Wards under civic wings

The Thanesar Municipal Council has adopted Ward 1, Ismailabad Municipal Committee has adopted Ward 4, Ladwa Municipal Committee Ward 10, Pehowa Municipal Committee Ward 1 and Shahabad Municipal Committee has taken Ward 11 under its wing.

District Municipal Commissioner Vaishali Sharma said, “To improve sanitation, we have launched a campaign in which one ward each has been adopted by the civic bodies. The employees of the Municipal Council and municipal committees will run various IEC activities to motivate people to reduce, recycle and reuse, besides advocating for the use of eco-friendly products. People will be motivated to start composting and stop using polybags. Under the campaign, challans will be issued for the use of polybags and bags made of cloth will be distributed.”

“After making one ward ‘swachh’, other wards will be included under the campaign. To stop people from dumping garbage along the roads and in vacant areas, it has been decided to clean and beautify points where people dump garbage and take action against people for throwing waste in public places. Officials have been directed to focus on segregation of waste at source. The prime objective is to motivate people to keep their localities clean and garbage-free,” she said.

Sharma said in the absence of a waste management plant, the waste was being sent to Karnal for treatment but a site for setting up a garbage treatment plant had been identified in Kurukshetra and the work of constructing the boundary wall would start soon. “Civic body officials have been asked to ensure proper garbage collection. It will also help us in improving the ranking in Swachh Survekhsan,” she said.

A local resident and executive member of Green Earth, Naresh Bhardwaj, said, “It is a good initiative for Kurukshetra, as without proper garbage collection and its scientific disposal, sanitation conditions can’t be improved. The NGO will offer its services to the civic bodies in making people aware and training them about composting and recycling waste.”