Chief minister Harish Rawat participated for the second time in the weekly clean-up drive organised by Making a Difference by Being a Difference (MAD) group in Dehradun on Sunday. The Chief Minister said that his attempt was to develop this clean up campaign started by a few youngsters into a public movement.
Participating in the clean-up drive at the Nehru Colony garbage dump along with MAD volunteers, the chief minister said that people will have to come forward themselves to keep their surroundings clean. He exhorted the citizens to ensure that they restrict their garbage to the garbage bin and not spread it out of the bin. Additional garbage containers will be provided to the municipal corporation, he added.
It should be noted here that MAD had started its Safai Yatra campaign on July 12 which was also attended by the CM, who had assured his participation in the weekly clean-up drive whenever possible. The group took up cleaning and awareness generation tasks at Tyagi Road and Nehru Colony this Sunday. On MAD’s request the Municipal Corporation of Dehradun had sent a JCB and a waste collection vehicle. The volunteers cleaned the scattered garbage at Nehru Colony and took about three hours to clear about a truckload of garbage.
MAD founding president Abhijay Negi said, “Our Safai Yatra intends to generating awareness about keeping your own localities clean on a war footing. That is why more than the physical clean-up; our Safai Yatra is focusing on making the residents, “Swachhta Sainanis” who would pledge to ensure the cleanliness of their own localities, sustainable waste disposal practices and to join in actively whenever MAD takes up an activity in their area. If the whole city pledges likewise, we could become a model town for the country to replicate as regards standards of civic sense. Our target by the end of this year is 5,000 Swachhta Sainanis.”