Bhubaneswar: The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has initiated its preparations for the upcoming Swachh Survekshan with a strong focus on the participation of educational institutions.
As part of this initiative, the best-performing clean school in each of BMC’s three zones will be awarded a cash prize of Rs 50,000. This announcement was made by BMC Mayor Sulochana Das while addressing a Swachh Survekshan training workshop for principals, lecturers, teachers, and educators held at the Ekamra Hall of the BMC headquarters Monday.
Addressing the gathering, the Mayor emphasised that educational institutions play a vital role in transforming cleanliness into a social value. She said maintaining cleanliness in the City is not only the responsibility of BMC but also a collective duty of all citizens.
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She urged everyone to make individual efforts to keep Bhubaneswar clean and green. Mayor Das appealed to schools to strictly follow waste segregation practices by separating wet, dry, and hazardous electronic waste and handing them over to BMC sanitation vehicles.
She also requested teachers to take special care in maintaining a clean and green school environment and to spread awareness among students and their parents about cleanliness and waste management.
Calling for collective responsibility, the Mayor urged citizens to avoid littering and to properly segregate household and garden waste before disposal. She further appealed to ensure cleanliness in schools, colleges, roads, parks, playgrounds, drains, conservancy lanes, water bodies, temples, and both government and private offices across the City.
Highlighting Bhubaneswar’s goal of securing the top position in the national cleanliness rankings, the Mayor called upon people of all age groups to actively participate in cleanliness drives. She added that along with cleanliness, environmental greening must also be prioritised.
The training programme was organised under the direction of BMC Commissioner Chanchal Rana, who instructed each educational institution to prepare its own cleanliness action plan. Teachers were also advised to train students and organise various competitions related to cleanliness and Swachh Survekshan.
It was informed that the Swachh Survekshan survey will begin in February, during which a central or third-party inspection team will visit Bhubaneswar. Citizens were urged to strictly follow solid waste management rules, keep their surroundings clean, and make cleanliness a daily habit.
The training programme witnessed participation from 130 schools and colleges, along with IEC assistants.