Cleaning up the image

KOCHI: Kochi is well-known for being a city which has metro rail, beautiful tourist spots and an IT hub but when it comes to basic cleanliness the district fails miserably.  Different campaigns, both online and offline, had been launched to beautify the city and change its present dubious image. One such project was the Clean Kochi Campaign.According to Mayor Soumini Jain, Clean Kochi Campaign which was initiated by the local administration under the National Health Mission has been taking concrete steps to address the cleanliness issues. 

She said the campaign has many features including organic farming, providing biogas plants at a subsidised rate, separation of plastic and electronic waste and putting a stop to the dumping of waste. 
Schools too have been brought under the campaign. The aim is to educate students about the importance of living in a healthy habitat.  The Mayor said public disposal of waste is the prime cause behind the spread of communicable diseases. “Making Ernakulam healthy by curtailing dumping of garbage in open spaces is an essential agenda of the programme,” she said.

She said, Kochi has a floating population and people who come in from other places or the migrant workers might not feel compassionate towards the city. She said people continue to throw waste in public places. “They don’t even bother to separate the degradable and non-degradable wastes. This is a matter of worry. People need to curb their tendencies to litter. They should show concern and work towards getting their city a clean image. The administration is coming up with different activities to clean the city and the citizens should put in the same amount of effort,” she said.