Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday said the series of measures initiated by his government were aimed at ushering in longevity and quality life.
Addressing a meeting in connection with Swachhte Seva, to mark the 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi at the Indira Gandhi Municipal stadium, Mr. Naidu said to make ‘quality life’ a possibility, he needed people’s cooperation.
“Let us all share the responsibility and grow trees in all areas, including offices and educational institutions,” he urged.
He said the government was keen on developing good roads, underground drains, compost units and beautification by Sankranti. He said the State would create most liveable standards where people would have higher life expectancy and a quality life.
Referring to the Father of the Nation, he said the Gandhi Hill in the city and Gandhi Kshetram at Avanigadda were among important places visited by the Mahatma.
In 2012, Mr. Naidu recalled, he had embarked on a 208-day-long pada yatra and covered 2,818 km as part of ‘Vastunna Mee Kosam,’ on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti. “I was greeted with heaps of garbage everywhere and open defecation was common place. At Singhnagar in city, thousands of tonnes of garbage posed a serious health hazard to the residents,” he said.
Japanese culture
Garbage was being treated and recycled through compost plants in 3,000 villages. At places like Challapalli, individuals had formed groups to usher in cleanliness in their areas.
The Chief Minister cited example of countries like Japan where people don’t litter.
“They instead carry it with them and throw only in garbage bins. We need to bring in that culture. We need to be more responsible and pass on this responsibility to the next generations,” he said.