KOCHI:
Kerala made a major step forward in its march towards a clean, green and healthy state with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan launching a massive state-wide cleanliness drive on Gandhi Jayanti today by leading a pledge-taking that gave out the message that it is the personal responsibility of everyone to keep one’s surroundings clean and hygienic.
The Chief Minister read out the seven-line pledge at a function held at Ernakulam General Hospital as part of the inauguration of a new cancer block.
While terming casual throwing of waste and used objects around as a “crime” against one’s surroundings and polluting rural and urban spaces besides water-bodies, the Chief Minister read out the vow which the people present on the occasion repeated saying “I hereby pledge that I will never do such an act.”
Also, a social media campaign #ChallengeToChange was launched on the occasion to strengthen the ongoing ‘Maattam’ programme spearheaded by the Kerala Solid Waste Management Project (KSWMP) under the Malinya Muktham Nava Keralam campaign.
Present at the oath-taking were Ministers M.B. Rajesh (for Local Self-Government and Excise), P. Rajeeve (Industry) and Veena George (Health) besides Hibi Eden, MP, legislators T.J. Vinod and K.J. Maxi, Kochi Mayor M. Anilkumar and State Chief Secretary Dr Venu V, among others.
The programme has been imparted further momentum by ensuring the involvement of the entire society by drawing on Gandhian lines with emphasis on collaboration and collective action, Local Self Government Minister Rajesh said.
It has brought together all government departments, local communities, Local Self-Government Institutions, students, women outfits, resident’s associations, sanitation workers and civil society organisations, according to Rajesh.
Overall, 25 lakh people took waste eradication oaths across the state during the cleanliness drive on October 1 and 2 as part of the Gandhi Jayanti celebrations under Malinya Mukta Nava Keralam.
Spearheaded by campaign secretariats at the district level, programmes were carried out across the state in the two days. With at least 200 volunteers from each ward, the drive as part of ‘Swachhata Hi Seva’ saw the cleaning of urban pockets, bus-stands, railway stations, public parks, tourist spots and markets.
The campaign will continue till October 15. Around 23,000 places have been identified to be freed from litter. Authorities expect the figure to rise to over 25,000. The campaign will be carried out in at least two areas in each urban local body ward and in all wards in each village panchayat.
This Gandhi Jayanti marked the intensive drive of the second Phase of the Malinya Muktam Nava Keralam campaign slated to conclude on January 30.
The campaign has set an ambitious goal of turning the state clean with sustainable waste management solutions in all local bodies by the end of 2024 March. This second phase will also focus on boosting infrastructure for waste management.
From today till October 10, authorities will work to ensure 100 per cent waste management in schools and government institutions. During the next ten days from October 10, there will be activities aimed at ensuring a proper waste management system and adherence to green protocol in commercial and private establishments.
Also, during this month, Local Self Government Department will address shortcomings of the waste management system in tourist destinations.
‘Maattam’, which sets a platform for a master-plan by urban bodies to attain sustainability in waste management, held workshops for urban local bodies in the last few months.
The three-phase Malinya Muktham Nava Keralam was launched in March this year as the principal vehicle of the state-wide scientific cleanliness movement, which is conceived as inclusive and sustainable. The first phase began on March 15 this year.
