Vijayawada: Vijayawada is eyeing a better rank in the Swachh Survekshan-2018. Until now, as per the Survekshan app reports, it is in the 7th rank. In the categories of user engagement and user happiness, the city scored good but in the agency responsiveness, Vijayawada's score is poor.
All the scores are based on complaints and resolving them, as per the records. The VMC officials are striving to get better rank by putting efforts in all aspects, despite the 30 per cent open drainage and open urination problem in the city.
The Swachh India team is going to start checking the ground reality basing on the documents submitted by the VMC. They will approach the public and ask them about the facilities provided and their utilisation, including the maintenance. The survey will be based on six major criteria including garbage collection & transportation, processing & disposal, ODF (Open Defecation Free), IEC behaviour change, capacity building and innovation.
The questions to the public by the team will be basing on the six criteria. In the first category, the VMC has improved a lot. From October last, commissioner of VMC J. Nivas has been touring daily in the morning for the inspection and to bring awareness among the people regarding garbage and its segregation. The corporation purchased new vehicles for its transportation.
Mr Nivas said "In September, we got the guidelines for this Swachh Survekshan Survey. From 1st October onwards, I have been on the road and the work began. We have distributed two dust bins for segregation."
In the second category, vermi compost units have been established. At present, the VMC is in a position of composting wet garbage of 160 tonne daily, out of the 560 tonne produced. The commissioner has assured, it will reach 100 pc by this year end.
Coming to the ODF, last year, the Corporation already got the ODF certificate despite some lapses. Community toilets are being run in 68 places in the city. Recently, 19 more new toilets have been set up by the corporation.
The commissioner said "We are very keen about the maintenance. Unless it is clean, the public do not want to use it. I can challenge now, there will not be s single toilet with poor maintenance."
Mr Nivas told "People's mindset should change and simultaneously facilities should be setup accordingly. Both of them have to be done at a time. Then only we can succeed."
To transform people's mindset, the corporation held awareness programmes in schools, among business circles, hotels and all the categories separately.
The fifth category is capacity building, means the staff of the corporation should be equipped. The commissioner said "Our engineering staff attended seven conventions across the country."
