SRINAGAR: Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) of Kashmir Division has launched intensive Sanitation-cum-Awareness campaign in different Panchayat Halqas as part of Jan Abhiyan initiative under phase 4th of ‘Back to Village’ programme launched by the government.
The campaign was initiated in all 40 Urban Local Bodies of Kashmir on the directions of the Principal Secretary Housing & Urban Development Department, Dheeraj Gupta with the objective to clean nearby rural areas and water bodies with community participation, besides creating awareness among the general public on Segregation of Waste at Source, 3R Principal of Waste Management and Ban on Single Use Plastic, said the Director, Urban Local Bodies, Kashmir, Mathoora Masoom.
Different activities aimed at cleanliness and dissemination of awareness on best sanitation practices were undertaken by the Urban Local Bodies in nearby Panchayat areas which include Sanitation/Cleanliness drives, Plog Runs, Clearance of Garbage Points/Garbage Vulnerable Points, Installation of boards and hoardings with Swachhata Messages, Awareness on Source Segregation through ‘HaraGeela-SookhaNeela’ concept of waste segregation, Awareness on Ban on Single Use Plastic, Dissemination of Swachhata messages through announcements by D2D collection vehicles and Cleanliness of Water Bodies.
About 31 tonnes of garbage was collected so far during the campaign and lifted by the Urban Local Bodies.
As part of the Jan Abhiyan initiative, the community participation was ensured by the ULBs. The elected Public Representatives of the ULBs, Panchayat Representatives, local rural population, officers/officials of other Govt. departments, Non-governmental Organizations, Community –based Organizations, Students, Informal Workers (rag pickers) participated in the Sanitation Campaigns.
In order to ensure widespread dissemination of the Swachhata campaigns/messages, the ULBs shared the activities through different Social Media handles as well.
The campaign started well before the commencement of the phase 4 of ‘Back to Village’ initiative and will continue till the culmination of the programme.
“We welcome every stakeholder and people from all walks of life to actively participate in the Sanitation Campaign to make this Swachhata endeavour of the Urban Local Bodies of Kashmir division a success”, said the Director.(KNS)