Weekly cleanliness programme goes for toss

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Jalandhar, December 20

Launched with much fanfare earlier on August 26, a programme of the state government to run a community awareness campaign and a cleanliness drive taking any one ward of the city on every Friday has so far turned out to be nothing but just a one-day mega show.

The campaign with the slogan ‘Mera Shehar-Mera Mann’ was launched at Ward No. 12 by the Jalandhar Central Aam Aadmi Party MLA Raman Arora and Municipal Corporation Joint Commissioner Shikha Bhagat. While launching the campaign, MLA Raman Arora had said that this endeavour would help make the city clean and green and improve the quality of life of the residents.

The MLA had also pointed out that the Municipal Corporation would choose a ward for every Friday, where this awareness drive would be organised. There are 80 wards in the city, and had the campaign continued after the first show, nearly 17 wards would have been covered by now, giving a big boost to the party.

Shikha Bhagat had then said that the campaign would ensure cleaning and sweeping of all streets and roads across the wards. She had then said that the elimination of garbage vulnerable points, cleaning of drains and nallis, the lifting of C&D waste, demonstration of door to door collection and segregation of garbage at the household level by community facilitators and motivators would also be a part of the campaign.

Assistant Health Officer Krishan Sharma said, “The first programme at Ward No. 12 was carried out in a big way, and we have been doing quite a few events on Fridays. However, we have not publicised the event.”

However, the Municipal Corporation councillors, when contacted about the programme, said they had not even heard the name of this programme. Sherry Chadha, the Councillor of Ward No. 50, said, “I do not think there is any programme of this kind. Had any activity been done, some photographs or videos would have definitely been circulated by the staff or the government or the area residents. But we have not seen anything of the sort not have been informed about it.”

Pawan Kumar, the Councillor of Ward No. 30, too said that he had not heard of any such event. “No one in the Municipal Corporation, nor my fellow councillors have ever discussed any such programme.”