MCGM’s show-off cleanliness drive

• Hundreds of employees were put to work to wash and clean the roads with water, which were full of stinking garbage since a year for CM’s visit
• Encroachment of the hawkers in Dadar-Naigaon area removed for 2 days 

 Municipal Corporation employees painting the walls of the footpath

The main road near Dadar railway station cleared of hawkers

Mumbai (News) – Chief Minister is going to visit the city to inspect the ‘Swachh Mumbai’ campaign; the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) washed all the roads from the railway station to Naigaon by deploying hundreds of sanitation workers for 2 days at Naigaon in Dadar. All hawkers from the Dadar railway station to the lanes of Naigaon were removed for 2 days. Garbage trucks were sent to areas to collect garbage where it was lying throughout the year and was never cleaned, and the drains that were open throughout the year were finally covered with tiles. All these types of photographs have been captured by the daily Sanatan Prabhat and this has revealed the pretentiousness of the Municipal Corporation’s cleanliness drive.

On 24th December, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde visited Worli in the morning under the ‘Swachh Mumbai’ campaign and inspected the cleanliness. Later he was scheduled to visit Naigaon in Dadar for further inspection and participate in a programme. Because of the Chief Minister’s visit, the administration removed all the hawkers, fruit sellers, vada-pav carts, small and big retail goods carts, vegetable vendors etc. from the roads leading from Dadar railway station to Naigaon for 2 days starting 22nd December.

This is the way temporary cleaning was done

1. The walls along the roads were painted.

2. The open drains were covered with temporary tiles. Sludge from sewers was removed with the help of machines.

3. Pedestrian paths, as well as garbage areas, were cleaned by hundreds of workers.

4. All the unauthorised hawkers were removed and the footpaths were cleared.

5. Roads were washed using water spraying machines.

Cleanliness is regular – MLA Kalidas Kolambakar, Naigaon Constituency

Kalidas Kolambakar, MLA of Naigaon Constituency, was asked, “Can the administration be told to maintain regular cleanliness ?”, he said, “Cleaning is being done regularly. I have been elected as an MLA for the last 40 years because of the work I am doing. Talking about hawkers, he said, hawkers are like mill workers. Therefore, they cannot be ignored.

General public’s reaction

Mr Rohit Singh, a resident of Naigaon – Cleaning is going only because the Chief Minister is visiting; Otherwise, there is garbage everywhere all year round. There are hawkers on the streets. Seeing the cleanliness now, we feel like we have come to a foreign country.

A Woman selling vegetables on the footpath, Naigaon – The Municipal Corporation officials have instructed us not to sit down to sell vegetables for 2 days as the Chief Minister is visiting.

Common female commuters – Always have to traverse through a huge crowd where people keep pushing each other while passing through this area. Feeling good today as encroachments have been cleared and the roads cleared. If this is done throughout the year, there will be proper roads for walking.

Editorial Perspective

Instead of cleaning the roads whenever the Chief Minister is visiting the city, why doesn’t the Municipal Corporation take efforts to keep the roads clean daily ?