VIJAYAWADA: Some 1,200 tonne of garbage was removed from canals in Vijayawada and its outlying villages in the two-day cleaning drive ‘Nenu Saitham Krishnamma Suddhi Sevalo’, that concluded on Friday. Some 800 tonne of garbage was disposed on the second day of the drive. The drive, which saw the participation of officials of various departments, NGOs and students, ended with the formation of a human chain at Eluru Locks. They pledged to keep river Krishna free from plastic and garbage.
District officials commenced the second day of the programme with an awareness rally from Alankar Centre in the morning. District Collector Md Imtiaz, Municipal Commissioner M Rama Rao, Joint Collector Kritika Shukla and Joint Collector-2 P Babu Rao took part in the rally along with other officials, citizens and students.
The second day cleaning drive took place at Eluru Lakulu on the banks of Eluru canal and areas such as Ramalingeswaranagar. The irrigation department cleared up 400 tonne of waste, whereas Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) disposed 350 tonne of waste. As much as 50 tonne of waste was removed in the gram panchayat areas.
Some 25,000 people took part in the drive in which 22 heavy load vehicles, 65 tractors, 11 earthmovers were used to clean the canals and dispose the waste in the dump yard. Addressing the public, Imtiaz said that such drives would be conducted every month in the future keeping in view public health and to restore the environmental balance.“This is not just a two-day affair. We will organise such drives every month and involve people, officials, students, NGOs in this campaign. The goal of the campaign is not only cleanliness but also create awareness among the public about the need to keep the canals clean,” he said.
Municipal Commissioner M Rama Rao requested the people to take up the responsibility of maintaining cleanliness in their surroundings, in the canals and also completely stop the use of plastic. “The garbage we removed today accumulated not only due to the negligence of the officials but also due to callousness of the public which resulted in transformation of Eluru, Bandar and Ryves Canals into dumping grounds. VMC has installed separate dry and wet garbage dustbins and people should segregate and dump the waste accordingly,” he said.