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Poor response to Swacchata App

Wednesday, 27 December 2017 07:11 administrator
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The Hindu       27.12.2017  

Poor response to Swacchata App

Survey team coming between January 4 and February 4

With a Union government’s team for Swaccha Survekshan Survey 2018 of cities scheduled to arrive here between January 4 and February 4 next, there is poor response from people for downloading Swachhata App for recording feedback on cleanliness of the city; thanks to the lethargy of Mangaluru City Corporation, which has lagged behind in taking up an intensive campaign to create awareness, especially among youth and others in general.

According to a health section official of the corporation, only 363 persons have downloaded the App till Tuesday. The last date for downloading the App is December 31.

Of the total 4,000 points (or marks) fixed under the survey, 1,400 marks have been reserved for citizens feedback or public opinion recorded by downloading the App.

An equal amount of marks (1,400) have been reserved for documentation by the corporation. Another 1,200 marks have been reserved for direct observations by the team members.

The official said that download of the App by 363 persons could earn the corporation only 150 marks. If the civic body is to earn more points, those who have downloaded the App should record their feedback.

Shashidhar Shetty, a green and social activist, said that activists like him were not aware of the App.

He said that people are not aware of any awareness drive by the corporation to sensitise people.

Mr. Shetty wanted to know how the corporation has used the services of its sanitation ambassador, Tulu drama and comedy actor Naveen D. Padil, in creating awareness on sanitation in the city ahead of the survey.

Agreeing with the views of Mr. Shetty, another social activist Gerald Towers said that a majority of people in the city have not heard about the App and their role in the survey.

The councillors have also not helped in sensitising people, he said.

‘Drive is on’

At a press conference here on Tuesday, Mayor Kavita Sanil and Commissioner of the civic body Mohammed Nazir said that the corporation has taken up a drive and it was on. They appealed that more people should download the App and give their feedback to make the corporation score high rank. But both did not share the details of the awareness drives being carried out by the civic body.

 

App to locate public toilets planned

Wednesday, 27 December 2017 07:08 administrator
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The Hindu     27.12.2017 

App to locate public toilets planned

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) wants to utilise the data it recently gathered during the public toilet survey in the city to build an app to locate public toilets.

The BBMP had geo-tagged locations of public toilets built by it, but not of toilets built and run by NGOs and private players and those in petrol stations. During the survey, the civic body acquired geo-tagged data of all such toilets in the city, which will be mapped on the app, said Sarfaraz Khan, Joint Commissioner, Health, BBMP.

 

 

Focus on toilet infrastructure to improve city’s ‘swachh’ ranking

Wednesday, 27 December 2017 05:29 administrator
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The Hindu       27.12.2017  

Focus on toilet infrastructure to improve city’s ‘swachh’ ranking


BBMP opts for steel structures; nearly 2,500 community toilets, 3,500 household toilets being put up

In a bid to improve Bengaluru’s Swachh Bharat rankings, the civic administration is finally focussing on filling the gap in toilet infrastructure. But in a hurry to meet the March 31, 2018 Swachh Sarvekshan deadline, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has opted for a quick-fix solution and begun work to put up nearly 2,500 community toilets and 3,500 household toilets using mountable steel structures instead of building permanent ones.

Bengaluru ranked 210 in the recent Swachh Bharat rankings, a steep drop from 38 the previous year. One of the many reasons for the drop in rankings was that the evaluation procedure had earmarked 600 marks or 30% of the total 2,000 for making the city open defecation-free. Bengaluru scored a zero in the category, as no part of the city was declared open defecation-free.

The BBMP recently conducted a survey of toilets in the city to fill gaps in infrastructure as the first step towards declaring the city open defecation-free. The survey revealed that migrant labourers, especially construction workers and children in slum pockets, were the most prone to open defecation.

However, based on findings of the report and certification by heads of all government schools in the particular wards, the BBMP council recently adopted a resolution declaring 109 of the 198 wards open defecation-free. All these are in the core city. The BBMP will have to issue a public notification declaring these wards as open defecation-free, following which people can submit objections, which needs to be addressed before the wards are finally declared open defecation-free.

Sarfaraz Khan, Joint Commissioner, Health, BBMP, said the survey revealed that over 3,500 households did not have toilets and there was a need for 2,500 community and public toilets. “Swachh Bharat programme provides subsidy to build toilets, which we are using and have already begun work to build these toilets,” he said. A household toilet costs Rs. 14,000 for which the Union government provides most of the subsidy, and a community toilet costs Rs. 94,000, of which the Union government bears Rs. 54,000 and the rest the civic body and the State government pitch in, he said.

The BBMP has opted for a toilet from Tata Steel, a mountable steel toilet that can be installed in just two days. The model of the toilet and the vendor are both empanelled by Swachh Bharat Mission, sources said. Mr. Khan said individual households still had the option to opt for concrete structures.

 
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