Download Swachhata app to help city get better rankings, Mayor tells citizens

Mangaluru Mayor Kavitha Sanil has appealed to citizens to download the Swachhata App so that the city gets a better ranking in the Swachh Sarvekhsan 2018, which will commence from the first week of January.

Briefing reporters here on Tuesday, she said that since not many have downloaded the app, it would take a toll on city's score in Swachh Bharat ranking. The number of downloads of Swachhata App and people's feedback on it about MCC's efforts to redress their complaints carries 1,400 marks. Only 363 people have downloaded the app so far, while over 17,000 people have downloaded the app in Mysuru and other competing cities, she said.

For downloading 5,000 Swachhata app, there is 150 marks. There are marks for using the app as well.

Incidentally, Mangaluru City Corporation was ranked third in the second sanitation rating of 476 cities behind Mysuru and Greater Mumbai Municipal Corporation, in 2016. In 2017, the City stood at 63rd position, as only 283 persons had downloaded the app and started using Swachhata app.

A team of officials from the central government's Urban Development Department (UDD) will visit the city in the first week of January to survey cleanliness and the work done under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan. Based on details gathered through a field survey, the government will rank cities and towns from across the country.

MCC Commissioner Mohammed Nazeer said that citizens will be asked various questions related to waste collection, improvement in the city's cleanliness, door-to-door waste collection, presence of adequate number of toilets and concerns of citizens over the city's cleanliness. Citizens can lodge any complaints on improper waste collection in any locality or no water supply in public toilets through the app as well.

Segregation of waste

MLA J R Lobo said that the authorities have identified 170 places where garbage is dumped haphazardly alongside the road within Mangaluru City Corporation limits. The civic body has chalked out an action plan to check such dumping of garbage. Further, he said that the segregation of waste from source will commence from January 16 in all the 60 wards. Antony Waste Handling Cell Pvt Ltd, the contract agency of the corporation collecting and transporting all waste from the city, will be directed to get ready for collecting dry and wet waste separately.

Vasudeva Rao, representing Ramakrishna Mission, said that volunteers from Ramakrishna Mission are visting various places in the city and are guiding the citizens about how to download the app.

DH News Service