City fares better in Safaimitra Suraksha Challenge, ranked 15th among 45 cities

Nagpur: Though it slipped in Swachh Survekshan, the city faired better in Safaimitra Suraksha Challenge by the central government for the first time under Swachh Bharat Mission. The city has ranked 15th among 45 cities with population of over 10 lakh in the country.
The rankings declared by the ministry of housing and urban affairs a day ago showed the city is at fourth position among 10 cities in the state. Navi Mumbai, which secured second rank in the nation, was first in the state, followed by Kalyan-Dombivali at number two, and Aurangabad at three.
However, when it comes to scoring, city managed to get only 334.08 of total 1,000 marks.
Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) additional municipal commissioner Ram Joshi told TOI, “Ranking of 15th among 45 cities is satisfactory. The government organized this challenge for the first time and we are hopeful of improving the position next year. This challenge was about handling of sewage system and safety of workers engaged in this work. We have engaged one sewage suction machine in each of the 10 zones for clearing choked sewage lines. We have life insurance for all sanitary workers working on permanent basis. We also give them reimbursement for hospitalization. They get all safety kits for work.”
Under Swachh Survekshan-2021 rankings announced a day ago, city was ranked 23rd among 48 cities. Last year, the city was at 18th position.
Sanitary workers’ leader Kishor Samundre said, “Around 400 of total 8,000 sanitary workers are engaged in cleaning of sewage network. There are many areas in the city where machines cannot enter. Therefore, NMC has continued manual cleaning of lines and chambers, which is harmful for sanitary workers. They are not given basic facilities like hand gloves, gumboots, masks etc. For last 12 years, workers engaged on daily wages were not even given uniforms. They are also forced to enter sewage chambers, which is an inhuman activity.”
NMC is yet to engage robots or any other mechanized system for clearing choked sewage lines and chambers. Even manholes are open in many areas and sewage water can be seen overflowing on roads or in public places in some localities.
Among 85 cities falling in 3-10 lakh population, Amravati stood at 7th place with 604.60 marks followed by Chandrapur on 12th position with 501.48 marks and Akola on 42nd place with minus 8.81 marks.