The Tribune Impact: Patiala civic body swings into action, clears garbage

A day after The Tribune highlighted the issue of garbage littered across the city ahead of Diwali, the civic body swung into action and carried out a massive cleanliness drive across the city. The areas highlighted in the news report among others where garbage was dumped in the open were cleaned.

The Tribune had carried out a survey in the city and busy markets to check the sanitary conditions. At Qila Chowk near Khaddar Bhandar, plastic waste was seen scattered across the streets. The scene at Sanauri Adda was no different, reflecting a similar level of civic neglect. The situation was even worse near Safabadi Gate and Nabha Gate where the stench and sight of garbage dumped on the roadside forced passersby to cover their faces.

Dr Navinder Singh, Medical Officer, who supervised the cleanliness drive, said, “Sanitation is our top priority. I had joined in September and recently conducted a detailed meeting to draft a comprehensive plan for garbage collection and segregation.”

He said a health check-up camp was also organised to monitor the health of all sweepers, sewerage men and drivers.

Social activist Vinod Sharma said, “After the news report, sweepers were seen in action and garbage was collected from the internal city area and busy marketplaces.”