The five-day long Swachh Hyderabad programme led by K Chandrasekhar Rao and his army of officials pompously marched with a promise to clean surroundings to all and sundry.
But, does the campaign manage to reduce the ‘filth quotient’ of the city? Because debris and waste material, generated is back in most of these residential pockets.
Swachh Hyderabad was limited to a few streets and roads appeared somewhat cleaner, the garbage bins, footpaths and open spaces were found to be overflowing with debris and dirt. The unpleasant smell, in some places, was hard to miss either.
“There has been a garbage bin right next to my house, which has not been cleared for the past two years. Even after the CM’s visit, officials have not bothered to remove it. What is the point of conducting such a campaign then?” questioned K Pandu, a resident of Parsigutta, one of the many places that KCR had visited as part of the ‘Swachh Hyderabad’ drive.
The people living in and around these stretches had nothing good to say about the cleanliness drive.
“Earlier it was difficult to walk on the streets because of the filth, and now, with garbage piling up on the footpaths, we just have no place to walk,” fumed E Merelyn, a resident of Marredpally.
There are others too lashed out at the government for conducting a mere ‘symbolic’ drive that made only for a good photo-op for the CM!
“The campaign was nothing more than eyewash. Also, there are many lanes and by lanes that are still waiting to be cleaned,” said an outraged N Kannaiah Naidu, president of the Matrusri Nagar resident’s welfare association in Miyapur.
“Now that the programme is officially over, I wonder where authorities plan to dispose of the garbage. We will have to wait and watch,” said, Major Shiva Kiran, a resident of Begumpet.