GVMC organises sanitation drive to clean up debris left by Cyclone Gulab

To clear up the vast amount of debris left behind in Vizag by Cyclone Gulab, Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) is organising a city-wide sanitation drive on Wednesday, 29 September 2021. On Tuesday, GVMC Commissioner G Srijana IAS got on a conference call with the GVMC officials, Zonal Commissioners and Ward Specialists. She directed the officials to ensure maximum engagement in this sanitation drive. 

The GVMC Commissioner has invited all Zonal Commissioners, Ward Specialists, GVMC Sanitation staff, Ward secretaries, and volunteers from the city to take part in this drive. The objective of this sanitation drive is to clean up all roads, sewers, canals, and ditches in Vizag that have been clogged up with debris after Cyclone Gulab. The waste is then to be moved to the dumping yard. Fallen trees, in particular, are to be moved to the dumping yard at the earliest.

As a part of the sanitation drive, the GVMC officials have been asked to visit flood-prone areas and note the needs of citizens, to provide necessary facilities to the people displaced from their homes by Cyclone Gulab and put at rehabilitation centres, and to drain the flooded areas completely.

Along with this, the civic body is also continuing its awareness drive against seasonal diseases in Vizag. As a part of this drive, the GVMC health officials, ward secretaries and sanitation staff have been inspecting various parts of the city and identifying vulnerable areas where disease-carrying mosquitoes can be harboured. The municipal corporation has been constantly requesting people to check their terraces, flowerpots, and nearby reservoirs. Additionally, people have been encouraged to observe dry day at their households. Due to the impact of Cyclone Gulab in the city, the threat of seasonal diseases is higher than ever.   

It’s worth noting that over a pair of days (mostly Sunday), Cyclone Gulab caused a lot of damage in Visakhapatnam. City roads in low-lying areas were submerged while trees had fallen down in numerous areas. In some areas, weakly-built structures like building walls also collapsed. The city also experienced lengthy power outages due to the cyclone which were majorly resolved by Tuesday.