GVMC felicitates sanitation workers as Visakhapatnam secures fourth rank in Swachh Survekshan Survey
The Hindu
TTD Chairman Y.V. Subba Reddy urges the civic body to launch initiatives to achieve the top rank in the next edition of the survey; appreciation certificate and cash awards given away to the workers
Recognising the efforts of the sanitary staff and attributing their role in achieving the fourth rank in the recent Swachh Survekshan- 2022 awards, the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) felicitated 144 workers with ‘Swachh Visakha Puraskar- 2022’.
YSRCP Uttarandhra region coordinator Y.V. Subba Reddy, Mayor G. Hari Venkata Kumari and District Collector A. Mallikarjuna given away appreciation certificate, ₹1,000 each to sanitary workers, while the underground drainage workers received a certificate and ₹1,500 cash each. The authorities also distributed PPE kits to the sanitary inspectors on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Subba Reddy, who is also Chairman of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) said that sanitary workers and sachivalayam staff had played a pivotal role in improving the rank of Visakhapatnam in the Swachh Survekshan Survey from nine to four. He also lauded the commitment of citizens in giving feedback, which led the city to top the country in the citizen feedback category.
“The GVMC has been according a top priority to cleanliness and undertaking various programmes in this connection. I am hopeful of Visakhapatnam achieving the top rank in the next Swachh Survekshan Survey,” said Mr. Subba Reddy.
Congratulating the sanitary workers and the GVMC staff, Collector A Mallikarjuna said that efforts should be multiplied by the civic body to achieve the top rank in the survey. “We must compete hard to beat Indore, which has been consecutively achieving the top rank for years. In documentation, certification and some other categories of the survey, we need to identify the gaps and try to fill them. There is not much time for the next survey. All officials must gear up, target the top rank and must take adequate steps,” he said.
Mayor G. Hari Venkata Kumari remembered the services of sanitatary workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. She expressed thanks to the resident welfare association (RWA) members, NGOs, educational institutions, citizens in supporting the corporation.
GVMC Commissioner P. Raja Babu said that the civic body would take this ranking as an inspiration and put more efforts to bring in better results.
In 2021, five women from Mayithara, four of them MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) workers, found a common ground in their desire to create a sustainable livelihood by growing vegetables. Rajamma M., Mary Varkey, Valsala L., Elisho S., and Praseeda Sumesh, aged between 70 and 39, pooled their savings, rented a piece of land and began their collective vegetable farming journey under the Deepam Krishi group.