BENGALURU: Mayor Gangambike Mallikarjun on Friday launched ‘Bengaluru 20 by 2020’ project, which is aimed at improving the city’s Swachh Bharat ranking from the present 194th position to 20th position by the next year. “We (Bengaluru) rank 194 mainly because of our poor waste management and lack of toilets. The city needs at least 30,000 toilets, but currently there are only a few hundred. More number of toilets and their proper maintenance is needed to get rid of open defecation menace,” said Gangambike.
She addressed the media after chairing the first meeting of the project with all 198 ward corporators and members of various non-governmental organizations (NGOs).It was decided in the meeting to involve citizens as brand ambassadors to achieve a positive rating in the next Swachh Bharat survey. “There is a need to create a sense of ownership and pride among Bengalureans to improve the city’s ranking,” she said. A presentation was made on the way forward.
“We need to bring the city’s ranking within the top 20. There is a problem of cooperation and coordination between corporators and engineers at the ward levels, and this needs to be improved. The next step will be to hold meetings at the ward level with the corporators and citizens to understand the local problems,” she said.
She added that henceforth all the toilets will be checked for maintenance. Action will be taken against the contractors concerned if toilets are found closed or poorly-maintained. Members of Solid Waste Management Round Table, who are part of the project, said Mayor’s team has been formed to work on war-footing to improve the city’s cleanliness quotient.
PLANS IN THE PIPELINE
Garbage segregation at source
Smart control room to monitor garbage collection and disposal
Frequent meetings with citizens
Ward councils to look into civic issues
Proper disposal of plastic
More toilets in the city
Toilet near statue irks residents
Members of Bengaluru Residents Welfare Civic Association along with local residents held a protest on Friday morning near Kittur Rani Chennamma Circle against the construction of a toilet near the statue. On learning about the incident, Gangambike immediately announced its demolition and asked the staffers to get the space cleaned.