COIMBATORE:The recent Swachh Bharat rank list released by the Union Ministry of Urban Development shows how much the city lags behind in providing proper sanitation facilities to the public. Though the civic body has created Guinness record in largest recycling lesson to more than 12,000 people, it has failed to ensure basic amenities including toilet facilities in the city.
The city corporation has managed to secure only 196 rank against the 476 Tier-I cities taken into consideration for Swachh Bharat competitions, in 31 States across the country.
It's not just a single category, the civic body has taken the backseat in several of the categories. Some of the categories are - open defecation, solid waste management, sewage management, waste water treatment and drinking water quality, surface water quality of water bodies and mortality due to water-borne diseases.
According to sources, its been five years since 11 local bodies were annexed to the city. But, people are still defecating in the open, as the civic body had not provided additional toilet facilities.
Likewise, the proposal to sell treated sewage water from Ukkadam sewage treatment plant to industries remain on paper for years, and the treated water is being discharged into the Noyyal river.
Ground water was polluted in and around the Vellalore dump yard, as the civic body and the contractor of the yard has not carried out effective solid waste management practice.
Coimbatore Corporation Commissioner K Vijayakarthikeyan said that all attempts are being made to set things right.
However, sources said the civic body's senior officials would not have cooperated with the Union government in handing over proper documents, leading to the bad ranking which was given to the city, in the contest conducted last year.
“The civic body should form a committee comprising of a citizen to ensure that the work has been progressing in effective manner. The civic body should try to rectify the mistakes and start work to provide basic amenities for the welfare of the public,” said Daniel Jesudass, an RTI activist.