Hyderabad: The GHMC is gearing up conduct the internal ranking of the twin cities. Municipal corporations earn points for conducting the ranking from the Swachh Bharat committee. The ranking will be released in January 2018. The sanitation department, seeking a good rank, is focusing on the maintenance of public toilets, disposal of solid waste and control on the use of plastic. GHMC commissioner Dr B. Janardhan Reddy last week inspected a prefabricated public toilet at Leelanagar near the Begumpet railway station. At Begumpet, he got a report that the toilet was catering to 40 to 50 persons and many others were resorting to open defecation.
The GHMC chief directed the assistant medical officers to inspect public toilets and check maintenance, water supply and lighting to encourage more people to use them. Medical officers who inspected toilets, garbage collection and transfer points got complaints on roadside parking, open urination and sanitation. This newspaper spoke to a few locals about civic conditions. Mr Vijay Y. from Marthandanagar, said, “There is no drainage system in Hafeezpet and the area has problems with sewage water and breeding of mosquitoes,”
Ms Sandhya Reddy from Venkataramnagar said, “Garbage is not collected daily.”
In isolated areas be-yond the city limits, the corporation has performed badly. Open defection is the norm of the day in many remote areas. “Earlier, the city lost out on toilets, management of solid waste and segregation at dumping yards. Hyderabad has to work on its sanitation aspects, said an officer with the Union urban development ministry, who is in the city to conduct the evaluation.
Holidays hit cleanliness drive in city’s schools
The fortnight of holidays for Bathukamma and Dasara have foiled the plans of schools to conduct cleanliness drives which they normally do so in association with Gandhi Jayanti. Schools conduct the cleanliness drives during the week leading up to October 2. Ms Usha Reddy, principal of Meridian School said, “Our plans went for a toss with the state government’s announcement. We ensure that our children are given activities according to their grade during Gandhi Jayanti and the week before that. Talks are conducted about the relevance of non-violence, the importance of truth and other virtues that are associated with Gandhi.”
She stated that children were very enthusiastic to undertake cleanliness drives. “We stress on the importance of cleanliness and ensure that the children do their bit for the school’s overall cleanliness,” Ms Reddy said. Sanghamitra School in Hyderabad used to organise a ‘Joy of Giving’ week leading to Gandhi Jayanti and students were expected to bring food, clothes and other items to hand out to the needy. Ms G. Arundhati, an official from the school, said, “It is really unfortunate that Gandhi Jayanti came after the Dasara and Bathukamma holidays. On Gandhi Jayanti, our students lend a helping held to the sanitation staff. They let the staff take a break and sweep the classes and school premises.” The plantation drive normally conducted during the week has been postponed.
With the tight exam schedule, school officials claim that rushed revision is needed and the cleanliness drive will have to be planned properly. “A cleanliness drive on Gandhi Jayanti brings the students closer to the importance of hygiene that was always stressed by Gandhi,” said Ms Arundhati. Parents across the state also share the woes of schools. Mr Lakshmi Rao, a parent, said, “Although it is a holiday, my child would voluntarily go to school on October 2. Cleanliness drives are a way for students to bond and laern the importance of hygiene. I hope all schools will be able to conduct the same after reopening. Students should also learn how to pick up after themselves.”
Year-long effort, say varsities
Universities across the state have failed to make it to the Swachhta Ranking list announced by Union minister Prakash Javedkar despite month-long preparations. The Centre judged 3,500 colleges on greenery, campus accessibility and waste disposal. Mr V. Venkata Ramana, vice-chairman of the Telangana State Council of Higher Education, said that despite the setback, it was imperative to continues the efffort throughout the year. “Campus greenery is essential and recycling should be implemented.” A university official said that although there was constant support from students and faculty members in cleanliness drives, a month-long effort cannot change a campus.
An official from UoH said, “We hope to continue to conduct greenery drives to ensure that our rankings increase. To ensure the overall cleanliness in a campus, support from students, faculty and non-teaching staff is needed and should be encouraged by the education board.” Ms Vineetha Balakris-hnan, a UoH faculty member said, “The effort was taken up with gusto by students and faculty members but if the same dedication is not shown throughout the year, it won’t work.” The rankings which focused on waste disposal methods took into account hygienic methods of waste disposal for sanitary napkins also. Students claim that despite pleas to administration for incinerators, few are available. Ms Meghna Deepak, a student, said, “The issue of incinerators is picked up during elections but we keep seeing failed promises every year.”
