Varanasi: After intense inspections of city localities from Saturday night to Sunday afternoon, UP urban development minister AK Sharma asked Varanasi Municipal Corporation (VMC) to execute plans and work in the field not on paper to secure the top rank for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s parliamentary constituency of Kashi in the Swachh Sarvekshan (national cleanliness survey).During a direct interaction with corporators at the Circuit House on Sunday, Sharma said it was unfortunate that in the last survey the city slipped to the 17th position due to receiving only 63% marks in waste segregation at the source point. Calling for collective responsibility, he asked everyone to make all necessary efforts to rectify past lapses.Corporators and officials were asked to meet people in order to mobilise them to keep wet and dry waste separate. An appeal was also made to visit schools and colleges to interact with principals, teachers and children so that the new generation becomes part of this campaign. The civic body officials were asked not to rely solely on digital attendance, but to physically verify sanitation workers’ presence on site and personally contact those absent to know the reasons.Asking to eliminate all 250 garbage vulnerable points (GVPs) completely in the city before the rains begin and ensure beautification there, Sharma instructed immediate removal of stones from roads or lanes. He also ordered ensuring interlocking on unpaved pavements so that no part of the city appears dusty or disorganised. Regarding the electricity dept, he told corporators to immediately report dangerous wires hanging with bamboo support on WhatsApp.Municipal commissioner Himanshu Nagpal, through a presentation, showed that 22 waste collection points were removed so far and the remaining five will also be eliminated in the next two-three months. Door-to-door garbage collection will start smoothly in the new 25 wards to be included in the municipal corporation by Holi.
