Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Thursday called for greater public participation in keeping Bhubaneswar clean, saying the city can move from its current ninth position in the national cleanliness ranking to the top if every citizen takes responsibility.
Addressing the “Ek Din, Ek Ghanta, Ek Saath” cleanliness programme organised by the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation at Khandagiri, Majhi urged residents to extend the same care they give to their homes to the roads, lanes and neighbourhoods around them.
“Keeping the road in front of our house and our colony clean is also the responsibility of all of us,” the CM said.
Majhi urged households to separate wet and dry waste and hand it over to regular sanitation vehicles. He also appealed to citizens not to litter public spaces and to discourage others from doing so.
Highlighting the contribution of sanitation workers, the CM said Bhubaneswar has become cleaner and more beautiful than before and credited the Safai Mitras for their uninterrupted service. He said the state government is committed to ensuring social security and housing for Safai Mitras.
Majhi also recalled Mahatma Gandhi’s emphasis on cleanliness before Independence. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had transformed the vision into a mass movement through the Swachhata Hi Seva campaign since 2014.
Describing the “Ek Din, Ek Ghanta, Ek Saath” initiative as an innovative effort to involve society in cleanliness, the CM said collective participation was essential for sustaining a clean city.
He also congratulated the authorities, officials and Safai Mitras of Bhubaneswar and Puri after the two cities were selected among the country’s 50 “Model Sanitation Cities” for development.
Housing and Urban Development Minister Krushna Chandra Mahapatra, Ekamra MLA Babu Singh, BMC Mayor Sulochana Das, former MLA Priyadarshi Mishra, social worker Jagannath Pradhan, BMC Commissioner Chanchal Rana, corporators, BMC employees and Safai Mitras were present at the programme.
