GVMC to initiate Swachhta awards in Visakhapatnam

The Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) will soon be presenting Swachhta awards in the city. As per the information provided by GVMC Commissioner Hari Narayanan, a competition will be conducted as part of the Swachh Bharat 2020 campaign. The initiation is aimed at raising awareness on the significance of cleanliness in the local bodies across Visakhapatnam.

Hotels, educational institutions, schools, housing communities, government offices, universities and other local bodies and organisations falling under the purview of the GVMC will be eligible to participate in the competition. The participants will be judged on the basis of waste disposal, construction of toilets and other requisite measures adopted to maintain cleanliness. The competition is expected to help the local bodies to identify the shortcomings and better ways to achieve ‘Swachhta’.

Speaking to Yo! Vizag, a GVMC official shared, “In addition to initiating the Swachhta awards, the GVMC is also conducting three other competitions to promote cleanliness in the city as a part of the Swachh Survekshan 2020 program. These competitions-Short Film Contest, Adopt a Wall, Waste to Best Competition-would encourage people to come up with unique and creative ways to beautify the city.”

In an effort to improve the Swachh ranking

The recently held Swachh Survekshan 2019 saw Visakhapatnam slump to its lowest rank in three years. The city slipped 15 positions from the previous list to stand on the 23rd spot in the rankings this year.

In an effort to bag a better spot in the next rankings, the GVMC has been exploring several ways to boost the cleanliness in Visakhapatnam. While an earlier initiative proposed the introduction of e rickshaws to collect the garbage in the city, the latest announcement, to present Swachhta awards, is aimed at involving the citizens in the Swachh Survekshan 2020 campaign.