VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu called for keeping rivers clean. He said cleanliness is not the responsibility of the government alone and all five crore people should actively participate in the initiative as a mass movement.
The Chief Minister participated in the Swarnandhra-Swachhandhra Awards-2026 ceremony held in Vijayawada on Friday and presented awards to Swachhata Warriors, clean villages and towns, schools, hospitals, institutions, campuses and NGOs for their outstanding contributions to cleanliness.
Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister expressed concern over the discharge of waste and untreated sewage into the Krishna and Godavari rivers. He pointed out that people living downstream depend on river water for drinking purposes and warned that river pollution could affect not only the areas where pollution originates but also several other regions.
The Chief Minister stressed that cleanliness should extend beyond personal hygiene and the surroundings to include health and purity of thought. He said maintaining personal hygiene and clean surroundings would help prevent diseases.
The Chief Minister said the government had established the Swachhandhra Corporation to expand and implement cleanliness initiatives across the State. He recalled that during the previous regime, inadequate attention to sanitation had resulted in tonnes of garbage accumulating on roads.
The Chief Minister said the government was promoting the Net Zero concept in all schools, colleges and hostels across the State. To strengthen these initiatives and study innovative approaches, the Swachhandhra Corporation had signed an MoU with IIT Kanpur on Net Zero in the presence of the Chief Minister.
The Chief Minister said the government had decided to undertake large-scale development works in rural areas through the Palle Panduga programme, alongside urban development initiatives.
In the hotel category, Novotel Visakhapatnam received the cleanliness award. Several Rythu Bazaars were also recognised for maintaining high standards of hygiene. Vijayawada-Payakapuram, Kurnool-C-Camp and Srikakulam-Willis Rythu Bazaars received the awards.
In the municipal category, Tenali, Chilakaluripet, Mangalagiri, Ponnur, Bobbili, Rajam, Yelamanchili, Palamaneru and Giddalur municipalities received Swachhandhra Awards.
In the Clean Gram Panchayat category, K Moolapeta, Ravulapalem, Pattikonda, Duppada, Namburu and R.L. Puram Gram Panchayats were honoured.
In the hostel category, the Government Boys’ Hostel in Chittoor, BC Boys’ Hostel in Kadapa and Tribal Welfare Hostel in Anakapalli received awards. The Ambedkar Gurukulam in Palnadu, Girls’ Residential School in Eluru and Girls’ Residential School in Bapatla were also honoured for their cleanliness initiatives.
The Dwaraka Nagar Bus Station in Visakhapatnam, Chittoor Superintendent of Police Office and Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) Office received awards in recognition of their cleanliness standards.
In the temple category, awards were presented to Tirumala Tirupati Temple, Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy Temple and Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple at Simhachalam.
