‘Vrithi 2023,’ a sanitation campaign that seeks to make Ettumanur the first garbage-free Assembly segment in the State, will begin on October 1. The programme, to be led by the local bodies concerned, is slated to be implemented through various voluntary organisations; government departments, including the Kerala Police; Mahatma Gandhi University; and Government Medical College, Kottayam.
According to Cooperation Minister V.N. Vasavan, who represents the Assembly segment, preliminary works for implementing the project began on August 15. Committees are now being formed at the ward and cluster levels and orientation classes for the committee members have already begun.
The programme will begin with the removal of garbage in all waterbodies, followed by the cleaning of public roads the next day. This will be followed up with location-based sanitation drives over the next one month. Separate days have been set aside for cleaning up commercial establishments and government offices.
Garbage collection
While the plastic waste will be collected using Harita Karma Sena, the Clean Kerala Company will be brought in to collect the remaining garbage. All the garbage collected by the volunteers will be handed over to the company. The garbage collection in the Tiruvarppu panchayat is scheduled on October 12, in Aymanam on 14th, Kumarakom on 16th, Arpookkara on 18th, and Neendoor on 20th. The garbage in Athirampuzha will be collected on October 22 while that of the Ettumanur municipality the next day.
Awards of performers
A social auditing will be done to ascertain the progress and based on its report, a declaration will be made at ward level. After the ward-level inspections, a formal announcement on making Ettumanur the first garbage-free panchayat will be made. “To ensure success of the campaign, awards have been introduced for the best performing panchayat, ward, school, best Harita Karma Sena unit, and wards with 100% coverage of Harita Karma Sena. A facility too will be provided for the public to monitor the project and point out deficiencies. A WhatsApp number will be opened for this purpose,’’ said Mr. Vasavan.
