UT Adviser Parimal Rai on Wednesday launched an app, Swachh Toilet Locator, under the Swachh Bharat Mission to enable residents locate the nearest toilet using their Android phone. The launch was part of the citizen engagement and information campaign programme organised by Chandigarh Municipal Corporation. Rai said to increase the use of public toilets, it is essential for the citizens to be able to locate the nearest toilet. In this regard, the Ministry of Urban Development has announced the launch of a mobile application, Swachh Bharat Toilet Locator, which provides the citizens the service of locating toilets in their neighbourhood. Watch what else is making news: A GPS-tracking vehicle and biometric attendance of safaikarmacharis were also introduced and ID cards were distributed to door-to-door waste collectors. Rai appealed to Chandigarh residents to join hands with the municipal corporation to make the city number one in the Swachh Suvekshan-2017 by giving their valuable suggestions on the online citizen feedback questionnaire. During the programme, Mayor Arun Sood briefed about the ranking exercise of Swachh Suvekshan-2017. He said: “To encourage towns and cities to actively implement mission initiatives in a timely and innovative manner, MoUD proposes to conduct its second survey to rank 500 cities (with a population of 1 lakh and above) under Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U).” Municipal commissioner Baldeo Purushartha said citizen participation is crucial for the survey, social media and other traditional media channels will be used strategically at both national, state and city levels to educate citizens about the objectives of the survey and its methodology. The data to be collected for ranking of the cities shall be segregated into three main areas. Firstly, the preliminary data needs to be collected in advance by a process of self-assessment from the municipal corporation and other related agencies with regard to solid waste management and toilets. Secondly, the data would be collected from direct observations - survey agency shall be visiting each zone - slum areas, neighborhoods (non-slum locations), commercial or main public locations, bulk waste generators, community toilets and public toilets. Thirdly, the data would be collected from citizens’ feedback that is 1,000 citizens in the city or 0.1 per cent of city population would be giving feedback. Discussions with local citizens to be carried out to ascertain and confirm data on certain indicators. The city residents can convey their feedback through phone calls, social media and by downloading Swachhta app.
