Civic body gets ready for Swachh Survekshan

CHENNAI: The city corporation has geared to improve its ranking in Swachh Survekshan 2019. All the cities will be ranked based on various parameters of sanitation. A Central committee is scheduled to visit in January and the civic body has started its awareness campaigns in public places such as bus stands, air ports and Central railway station — one of the main criteria under direct observation.

“This year, the focus is more on sustainability and citizen participation. We are holding awareness rallies regularly, have conducted workshops and campaigns in schools and public locations such as airport, bus stands and at Central railway station,” said a corporation official. Chennai which was ranked 235 in 2017 and 100 in 2018.

To improve segregation and reduce the total waste generated, which holds additional weightage, civic body plans to purchase 4,150 compactor bins with RFID tags, battery-operated litter picking machines and tricycles and amphibian vehicles. “Resource recovery centres, biogas plants and ward-level compost yards are also part of the project that will be completed as soon as possible,” said an official.

S Sakthi Manikandan, superintendent engineer, solid waste management, Chennai corporation, said in the past few months, they have concentrated on waste segregation. “We have taken several steps to make city litter-free and create awareness. We have also improved night sweeping in all bus route roads. Especially, 11 roads in the city have been kept clean 24x7 which includes Poonnamallee High Road and Greenways road,” he said.