HYDERABAD: The port city of Visakhapatnam brought accolades to Andhra Pradesh securing the fifth position in the country for cleanliness. Meanwhile, Hyderabad, which fared among the dirtiest cities in the country last time, improved its position by finishing 19th in the list of clean cities, according to a survey conducted by Quality Council of India.
The cities, which made it to the top 15 list, including Visakhapatnam were on Monday felicitated by the Central government for their good work in different areas of sanitation.
Urban Development minister M Venkaiah Naidu presented trophies and mementos to the first 15 cities after announcing the results of ‘Swachh Sarvekshan-2016’.
If Mysuru was ranked first in terms of cleanliness again, followed by Chandigarh, Tiruchirappalli and NDMC area of the national capital, Visakhapatnam, Surat, Rajkot, Gangtok, Pimpri-Chindwad (Maharashtra) were also among the top ten clean cities.,
Coming to Hyderabad, the city got 19th place in the rankings released as per the survey. Though Hyderabad failed to find a place among the top 15, the city moved up the ladder by attaining the 19th place in the present survey, when compared to the 2014 ranking when it scored a poor 274th rank.
“Of the total 2,000 marks, Hyderabad has scored 1,355 marks. Various new initiatives introduced by Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) commissioner B Janardhan Reddy such as setting up pre-fabricated toilets, distribution of dustbins to each house and waste management got considerable marks,” a statement issued by the GHMC stated. However, the city lost marks on issues such as improper management of community toilets, lack of GPS facility to track GHMC vehicles and Swachh Bharat ambassadors’ involvement in the campaign, the statement disclosed.
Interestingly, the lackadaisical attitude of Hyderabadis in registering their complaints with regard to sanitation issues with the GHMC through the recently set up toll free number too contributed to the city’s failure in making it to the top list.
Pearl City Marching Ahead
Hyderabad, which fared among the dirtiest cities last time, improved its position. The city moved up the ladder by attaining the 19th place in the present survey, when compared to the 2014 ranking when it finished at the 274th position