A day after the Attukal Pongala, the city woke up with a fresh breath to witness the clean and wet streets. Many residents wondered, “did it rain after the soaring heat of yesterday!” However, it was no news for some who have been witnessing the overnight magic of the City Corporation.

Kudos to the around 2,500 staff, including the sanitation workers deployed by the Corporation, who fought with the scorching sun and midnight darkness to complete the post-pongala cleaning of the city on Sunday.

The Mayor herself supervised the cleaning activities which started by the afternoon.

According to the Mayor, as many as 2,470 workers, including 1,750 temporary and 720 permanent staff, carried out the removal of the leftovers, including the bricks brought to make hearths, organic and plastic waste materials and swept the roads. The arterial roads coming under the pongala area were also washed by the sanitation workers.

Co-ordinated by Health Standing Committee chairperson S Pushpalatha, the cleaning activities were conducted on the basis of 10 circles that come in the 20 wards which were announced as festival zones. The organic and plastic wastes that amounted to nearly a hundred tonnes were carted away to pre-identified spots in 43 tipper lorries. 

The streets, which were all dusty with ash, were washed  with the help of an artificial rain.

A special rain unit, like the one used in cinemas, was brought for this purpose instead of the traditional tanker lorries used to sprinkle water.

However, the Corporation staff are the ones who should be thanked for making the city as clean as ever. Many were seen carting out waste in baskets and sweeping a few remaining roads late in Sunday night also. Special incentives are given for these staff assigned for the Pongala special duty.