A mass cleaning drive will be held in all schools in Alappuzha on August 7. It is part of a campaign to make Alappuzha a waste-free district. The district-level inauguration of the drive will be held at Government High School, Pollethai.
Speaking to mediapersons on Saturday, district panchayat president K.G. Rajeshwari said that teachers, members of parent-teacher associations and students would take part in the cleaning programme. She said that schools would be made completely waste-free in three months with the support of the district panchayat.
For the success of the programme, the local body has published a 21-point school-level cleanliness plan with the help of the District Suchitwa Council. Schools complying with the standards will be declared as waste-free institutions. Schools will be graded with respect to their waste management practices and best ranked institutions will be given awards.
Ms. Rajeshwari said that district panchayat with the support of Suchitwa Mission would set up aerobic bins in all schools in Alappuzha. The local body sanctioned a sum of ₹1.5 crore for the first phase of the project.
The district panchayat president said the local body had set aside an amount of ₹7 crore for the first phase of works to make Alappuzha waste-free. Besides, grama panchayats and block panchayats had earmarked funds for the project, she said.
The aim is to declare Alappuzha completely waste-free before March 31, 2024. Apart from conducting cleaning drives in schools, the district panchayat has undertaken various measures with the support of the Haritha Keralam Mission, Suchitwa Mission, Kerala Institute of Local Administration, Integrated Rural Technology Centre and Kudumbashree Mission to achieve waste-free status.
