Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru
Mangaluru, Aug 9: The city of Mangaluru has topped the list of 'other major cities' of the country in Swachh Bharat Mission's rankings released on Saturday August 8.
Mangaluru is ranked 11 overall in the list of 476 cities in the country that were surveyed.
As reported earlier, Mysuru ranks number one in the country, and Bengaluru at number 7 topping the list of capital cities in the country. These apart, two other places from Karnataka - Hassan and Mandya - also made it to the top 10.
The survey, conducted during 2014-15, was commissioned by the ministry of urban development as required under the National Sanitation Policy of 2008. These rankings are based on the extent of open defecation and solid waste management practices, according to a government release.
Mangaluru's achievement has a lot to do with concerted efforts and cleanliness initiatives taken up by not only the administration but also by religious bodies, several different groups and even educational institutions, and particularly, the Ramakrishna Mission. Also, initiatives for solid waste management like door-to-door collection of garbage and segregation, awareness campaigns and so on have borne fruit. Though cleanliness initiatives in Mangaluru began many years ago, and the zilla panchayat even won the national Nirmal Gram award for total sanitation in 2011, the Swachh Bharat Mission added a fillip to these efforts. As back as 2008, Mangaluru was among the 8th cleanest city in the country.
Speaking to daijiworld, mayor Jacintha Alfred said, "We are very happy and feel proud that Mangaluru has achieved the 11th position in Swachh Bharat Mission. We aim to take Mangaluru to number 1 position and we will work towards this goal."
However, MLA J R Lobo said he was disappointed and that Mangaluru deserved a better rank. "I am disappointed. Our city is cleaner than Bengaluru and other cities in the top 10. Mangaluru should have been at least at the 5th position. I think there has been a lapse in the report given by our corporation. The corporation must improve on the report," he said.