ITANAGAR, Jun 8:  From being the 3^rd dirtiest city to become the 216^th cleanest city in the country in just one year is a significant achievement made by the state capital complex, thanks to the ‘Team Arunachal’ motto adopted by the Itanagar Municipal Council (IMC), Capital Administration, NGOs and individuals.

Chief Minister Pema Khandu profusely thanked and congratulated all involved in achieving the milestone at a simple but impressive function held at the state Banquet Hall by IMC here today.

“I have been always saying milestones are reached working in a team. IMC has proved it in a year! My salute goes to all involved,” Khandu said. He also congratulated the NGOs who voluntarily joined the campaign and contributed to the efforts jointly put in by the IMC and district administration.

Khandu hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had launched the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in 2014, and said the cleanliness drive was seriously taken by state governments and the difference can be physically witnessed countrywide.

He informed that the Prime Minister is serious with all schemes and programmes announced and has made it mandatory for the Chief Ministers to submit reports on actions taken and achievements made once in two months.

“With Modiji as the Prime Minister things have changed. There is a drastic change in work culture. Even if I am the Chief Minister, under him (Modi) I have to work as any other officer,” he pointed.

The Chief Minister announced that by 2018, Arunachal Pradesh will become an open defecation free state of the country. He informed the department of PHE is implementing the programme and will ensure the target.

Khandu asserted that sanitation is not only the responsibility of the government, the IMC or the district administration but also the citizens. He called upon each and every individual to take responsibility of keeping their surroundings clean and help the system work efficiently.

“The state capital is the face of Arunachal. Do we want it dirty?” he questioned and beckoned all to take the city from the current 216^th position to the top ten in the coming year.

He assured full support and cooperation to IMC in all its endeavours and urged the Council members to utilize the funds granted judiciously.

Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein stressed on creating civic sense amongst the citizens and called for the leaders to set examples. He said if leaders, officers and responsible citizens exemplify their civic sense first, common people will follow.

Mein said Gandhiji had emphasized the importance of sanitation years ago and we are learning now. He called all to follow the advice of Gandhiji and pledge to keep the surrounding clean.

Urban Development Minister Nabam Rebia and Chief Secretary Shakuntala Gamlin also congratulated IMC for the achievement and asserted that now the target should be to reach the top ten cleanest cities of the country.

 Main focus now would be on waste segregation, says DC

 ITANAGAR: Speaking at the function, Capital Deputy Commissioner Prince Dhawan set the future roadmap for the swachh abhiyan. He informed that three major initiatives would be launched very soon that would augment the already existing collection and disposal of garbage in the state capital.

Main focus now would be on source segregation or segregation at source. Dhawan said that two dustbins would be distributed free to every household of the city – one for recyclable waste (food wastes) and other for non-recyclable (plastic, electrical wastes). Households will have to segregate the waste and collect it in the dustbin meant for it, which will be collected by IMC separately. The recyclable waste will be then processed into fertilizers and sold off to farmers at reasonable rate. He however cautioned that households who fail to segregate waste at the source will be penalized as decided by the Empowered Committee of IMC.

“This way IMC would also earn revenue for its use,” Dhawan pointed.

Another important initiative would be launch of a new mobile app called ‘My Itanagar’, which would be available on google playstore.

Dhawan explained that through this app a citizen can upload a picture of unattended garbage and the municipality will clear it within 48 hoursand upload the ‘cleaned up’ picture of the same in the app. This would be witnessed by every citizen using the app.

The door-to-door garbage collection system would be taken a step further. Soon an IMC guy will actually knock the door of a household and personally collect the garbage. As of now, citizens wait for the garbage collection team to arrive at a fixed time and handover their garbage.

Another important initiative is to make citizens responsible by levying minimal civic charges for the services. This will not only earn some revenue for the Council but also connect citizens with the campaign through the mode of contributing to the cause in cash.

Incidentally the ‘civic charges’ was launched symbolically during the function besides distributing dustbins to those present.

Earlier, IMC CMEO Habung Lampung explained the process and steps taken during the last year that enabled Itanagar to better its image on the sanitation front.

Meanwhile, a host of councillors, officers, NGO involved in door to door garbage collection (Eco Tourism Society), artistes who helped in campaigning, sanitary assistants, drivers, cleaners and sweepers were felicitated for their outstanding contributions in helping remove the tag ‘third dirtiest city’ from Itanagar. 

Later in the day, three technical sessions – Role of Citizens, Segregation at Source and Role of Technology – were held for the councillors, municipal officers, staff, NGOs and other stakeholders.

While Secretary of the Brand Ambassador Committee Tumbom Riba Jomoh took the first session, IMC Executive Engineer Tadar Tarang took the second and the third technical session was taken by Circle Officer Bitu Kri.

 

---

Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

<< Back to News List