Minister urges Delhiites to join hands against garbage menace

NEWDELHI: Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Sunday appealed to Delhiites to swing into “collective action” to overcome the problem of garbage collection which he said had reached a “crisis proportion”.

He said the country could not be made clean without fixing the garbage problem in Delhi, stressing the need for residents of the national capital to swing into collective action for effective solid waste management.

The housing and urban affairs minister was addressing a gathering after participating in a ‘Swachhat Hi Sewa’ (Cleanliness is Service) event in Bhikaji Cama Place in South Delhi.

Noting that being a citizen and resident of Delhi is a “matter of pride”, he said this pride would, however, be “punctured” if Delhi was not made clean and the garbage issue was not addressed properly.

Observing that the central government has accorded high priority to the issue of sanitation, he said about five crore toilets have been constructed across the country including over 38 lakh in urban areas in a short span of three years.

Noting that solid waste management in cities is the major challenges in urban areas over the next two years of the cleanliness mission, he laid stress on “collective action” to ensure the success of the solid waste management.

The minister also unveiled ‘My Home-my Neighbourhood -Ghar Bi Saaf-pados Bhi Saaf’ campaign, focussing on motivating the residents of neighbourhood against throwing garbage in open spaces, adopting a near by park or open place for collection and waste segregation, compost making from wet waste within the premises, among others.