Delhi set for major sanitation drive ahead of Games

NEW DELHI - With the Commonwealth Games drawing near, civic authorities in the capital are Thursday set to launch a sanitation drive, which would include disinfecting railway stations, bus stops and major markets.

“This special awareness programme on cleanliness will be carried on from July 1 to July 15. The MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) will engage sanitation staffs, a five-member team in each zone to check and supervise the sanitation work,” Delhi Mayor Prithvi Raj Sawhney said at a press conference Wednesday.

Apart from this special team, every department of the MCD will participate in this cleanliness drive.

“We are planning to visit every ward within two days from Thursday to supervise the cleanliness programme,” Mayor said.

Major points of the city like the Old and New Delhi railway stations, inter-state bus terminus, airport, markets, religious places and major road junctions would be cleaned and treated with disinfectants.

The corporation will give special attention to the sanitation of latrines and urinals in schools and hospitals run by the civic body.

To prevent waterlogging during the coming monsoon season, the MCD has a special plan to remove debris from several areas in the city. The officials will identify at least one site in each ward where garbage or debris generated out of construction can be thrown, Sawhney said.

About complaints of debris due to works pertaining to Commonwealth Games, he said: “We will ensure that these will not go into drains, as it would lead to waterlogging during rains. We will strictly monitor and if drains are filled with debris, payments to the concerned contractors will not be made until they clear it.”

MCD house leader Subhash Arya said Rs.1 lakh would be provided for every ward in the city to hire trucks to clean the debris from drains before the monsoon sets in.

“Apart from this, the civic body has installed over 600 pumps across the city to avoid waterlogging,” he added.