The preparations are in full swing for Swachhta Pakhwada - Swachhta Hi Seva - 2023 across the country. Citizens have geared up to fulfill Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call to action for “Ek Tareekh Ek Ghanta Ek Saath and pledged to pay a tribute to Bapu through Swachhata. Swachh Bharat Mission –Urban under the aegis of Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) aims to make cities garbage free. Swachhta Pakhwada- As the festival of Ganesh Puja was being celebrated in Mumbai, so was the celebration of swachhata. In Mumbai, Swachhta Pakhwada is being celebrated with the same enthusiasm and fervour as Ganesh Puja.

The citizen participation in Maharashtra for ISL 2.0 held on September 17 was very interesting. People participated in the entire cleanliness fortnight with zeal and enthusiasm and extended their cooperation in cleaning every nook and corner of the city. Citizens will participate in the state-level cleanliness in Maharashtra on October 1 from their favorite locations through the portal provided by MoHUA. (https://swachhatahiseva.com/). They will also be able to click pictures from the site and upload on the portal too. Citizens will contribute significantly on 1^st Oct by cleaning water bodies, places of worship, private and government offices, schools, colleges, hospitals, bus stands, railway stations etc.

The Hingoli Municipal Council has adopted garbage vulnerable sites to clean and beautify the place where people throw garbage in the open areas. They will also be installing some seating benches there as part of the cleanliness drive. The main focus areas will be Hanuman Temple, Hingoli. Similarly, cleanliness drive was also carried out in all the election wards of Ratnagiri Municipal Council. The one-hour concept was introduced to make the city clean before October 1. People not only appreciated this concept but people are participating in this event enthusiastically as well.

Clean and green environment is a basic ideology in sustainable development. The importance of cleanliness is known to all and citizens try to keep their homes clean, but they somehow forget that they are also responsible for the cleanliness of the environment. Shirol city has witnessed massive youth participation. For October 1, cleanliness targets have been set for Shri Kalleshwar Lake, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Takht, Panchganga Ghat and Buwafan Temple in Shirol.

This mega cleanliness drive will connect people and focus on selected iconic heritage, spiritual and cultural places of the. More than 8 lakh sites have been adopted across the nation for the mega cleanliness drive.

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RKJ/M