Vijayawada: Over 1,200 tonnes of waste, mostly plastic, was removed from the three canals that pass through Vijayawada city in the last two days. On Friday, the second day of the clean drive, ‘Krishnamma Suddhi’, 800 tonnes was removed and 400 tonnes on Thursday.
A large number of citizens participated in the drive, apart from district collector A. Md. Imtiaz, municipal commissioner M. Rama Rao, joint collector Kritika Sukla and joint collector -2 P. Babu Rao and other.
They formed a human the chain at Eluru Locks and took an oath to save River Krishna from plastic and waste. Later, the collector and municipal commissioner oversaw the removal of waste with the help of JCBs at Eluru Locks, BRTS Road, Meesala Rajarao Bridge, Yanamalakuduru canal bund and other places.
Mr Imtiaz and Mr Rama Rao, along with their staff distributed pamphlets from Annadana Samajam Road to Lenin Centre. They also spoke to people living on the canal bunds and shopkeepers to maintain separate bins and segregate wet and dry waste, and warned them of strict action if they dirty the canals.
Mr Imtiaz said that monthly awareness programmes would be organised to save the city from pollution and to keep it clean. He called upon the citizens to join him in his endeavour to keep the city clean.
Mr Rama Rao said that it was only due to public apathy that the Eluru, Bandar, Ryves canals were becoming dumping yards. He said that the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation will distribute separate dustbins for collection of the garbage but it was also the responsibility of the people to segregate the it.
Ms Sukla said that the response from the public and officials of the various departments was overwhelming and ensured the success of the clean drive.
