Governor honours Sanitation workers on “Safai Mitra Amrut Samman Samaroh”
Chandigarh, October 3:- Sh. Banwarilal Purohit, Governor, Punjab and Administrator, UT, Chanigarh today felicitated Safai Mitras and frontline workers at Tagore Theater, Sector 18, Chandigarh on the closing ceremony of “Safai Mitra Amrut Samman Samaroh” organized by the Municipal Corporation Chandigarh.
Sh. Dharampal, IAS, Adviser to the Administrator, Sh. Ravi Kant Sharma, Mayor, Sh Nitin Yadav IAS, Home Seretary, Ms. Anindita Mitra, Commissioner, MCC, Smt. Farmila, Deputy Mayor, other councilors and senior officers of MCC were also present during the occasion.
While addressing the Safai Mitras, the Governor said that Mahatma Gandhi gave utmost importance to the cleanliness, and called upon the citizens to imbibe personal hygiene and ensure cleanliness of the surroundings. He said that Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Modi gave a concrete shape to the vision of the father of the Nation, and launched Swachh Bharat Mission. The Mission has been hugely successful in not only creating physical infrastructure and facilities, but also generating large awareness among the people.
The Governor said that Safai Mitras and frontline woekers have been working tirelessly to keep our neighbourhoods clean, especially during the COVID times, and the success of SBM owes to a large extent to them. He expressed happiness over the “Safai Mitra Samman Samaroh” organized by the MCC to facilitate near about 5000 Safai Mitras in two days. He said that by facilitating the Safai Mitras in this platform is a way of acknowledging their major role and contribution in making the city clean.
He said that we must appreciate the initiative of the Govt of India to launch Safai Mitra Suraksha Challenge. It gives not only the much needed encouragement to our safai sewaks but also recognise their arduous work aimed at ensuring greater public hygiene. He said when we discuss cleanliness the role and responsibility of Swachhata Sainiks comes very first and they get proud to the city always like they got here in Chandigarh also. The modern parameters of Swachhata imply the need for an improved understanding of our resources, and the ability to manage that demand in an equitable and sustainable way.
The Governor said that when we think of cleanliness, we think of large garbage dumps and heaps of scattered garbage, and not the small amount of garbage generated in our households. He said cleanliness should start in our minds from the very beginning of waste generation at source level besides effectively tackling other cleanliness issues. And I am sure with concerted and collective efforts; Chandigarh can regain its lost status of being No. 1 in cleanliness.
He further said garbage segregation and management is still one of the challenges faced by Chandigarh and I would like to solicit support and cooperation of each and every citizen so that we can achieve the task of 100% garbage segregation at source.
He said today, we are here not only to honour the safai karamcharis but we along with Society are obliged to Safai Mitra and salute each one of you for cleaning, maintaining, operating, or emptying a sanitation technology at any step of the sanitation chain, including toilet cleaners and caretakers in domestic, public, and institutional settings.
The Governor appealed to all the citizens to handhold for the success of Swatchh Bharat Mission 2 and support our Safai Mitra by saluting them for their exceptional role to the society.
Sh. Ravi Kant Sharma, Mayor, Chandigarh thanked the Safai Mitras for their contributions. He said that without their cooperation during COVID, the situation could have been bad if the cleanliness activities had not been undertaken in full speed. He said that cleanliness has led to lesser diseases, better health and better life. He called upon the citizens to not only maintain cleanliness in their surroundings but also help the Safai Mitras to get their work done easily.
The Governor and Mayor also honoured all the teams for performing during the week long mega event of 75th Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav.
A Play was also staged by the artists of Parmpara theater group under the theme “Daastan-e-Kudedaan”, which depicted the real picture of source segregation and awareness to segregate the waste separately i.e. wet waste and dry waste in different dustbins for its scientific disposal.
