Swachh rankings: 3,000 dustbins, 8,000 toilets sees Varanasi leap
It was from Varanasi, his Lok Sabha constituency, that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the Swachh Bharat Mission in November 2014
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Varanasi rose to 32nd place in the Swachh Survekshan-2017 rankings. from its 2014 placing of 418th. (File Photo)
Varanasi, which rose to 32nd place in the Swachh Survekshan-2017 rankings from its 2014 placing of 418th (that list was released in 2015), stood out from the rest of Uttar Pradesh which fared poorly, with 25 cities among the bottom 100 out of this year’s 434.
It was from Varanasi, his Lok Sabha constituency, that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the Swachh Bharat Mission in November 2014.
Avinash Kumar, nodal officer in Varanasi for Swachh Survekshan, said improved amenities such as waste management, a push to become ODF (open-defecation-free) and public feedback helped Varanasi score.
Around 2 lakh households of Varanasi City generate 550 tonnes solid waste everyday in 90 wards. “We ensured door-to-door collection of the municipal waste in the past two years by staff of the municipal corporation and other agencies. A solid waste management plant is operational. Also, cleanliness has been maintained along all the 84 ghats of the Ganga,” Kumar said.
Three thousand dustbins have been placed across the city, 8,540 individual toilets have been constructed to make the city ODF. Municipal officials said 26 wards have been made ODF already and September 30 this year is target to make the rest of the wards ODF. The Centre and the state government share the cost of toilets 50:50.
Municipal officials said 126 urinals and 153 public toilets were built. Also a waste-to-power plant has been made operational in Bhavania Pokhar area where 5 tonnes waste generates 300kW every day. The agency deputed by the Centre to survey for Swachh Survekshan-2017 contacted around 10,000 residents over the phone for feedback about cleanliness, officials said.
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