State chalks out month-long cleanliness drive

Thiruvananthapuram: Joining the nation-wide cleanliness drive starting from Gandhi Jayanti Thursday, Kerala Local Administration Department has chalked out a month-long sanitation-cum-awareness campaign roping in government and voluntary agencies.

Hundreds of sanitation workers and volunteers will fan out in every nook and corner of the state to remove garbage and other sources of pollution from public places as well as premises of educational institutions and offices as part of the programme, State Panchayat and Social Welfare Minister M K Muneer told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram Wednesday.

This is for the first time that such a massive exercise is being taken up to tackle this serious issue.

Unlike in the past, this has been conceived as a sustained campaign by ensuring people’s participation in a big way, Muneer said.

Besides government agencies like Suchitwa Mission and civic bodies, participation of women empowerment movement Kudumbashree, political parties and voluntary agencies down to the level of residential association have been enlisted for the drive, he said.

Its broader goals would include creating awareness about good practices like keeping clean sanitation facilities at home and public places, sorting home-generated waste and processing bio-degradable material at the source and keeping educational institutions, hospitals, offices and wedding halls free from plastic.

As far as plastic was concerned the strategy would be reduce, reuse and recycle.

For managing e-waste, recovery centres would be set up by civic bodies and collection bags distributed to the public.

The ‘Clean Kerala company’ set up by the government will buy plastic and electronic waste at Rs five per Kg. Special awarness programmes would be organised in schools and children and youth would be major players in the campaign.

We have conceived the whole campaign not just as a once-in-an-year ritual but as a continuing programme, the minister added.