Sambalpur: Sambalpur’s Cleanliness Issues Continue Despite Spending Rs 1.5 Crore Every Month; Meeting Calls for Strong Action

Sambalpur: It has become a normal thing to raise concerns regarding cleanliness in the Sambalpur metropolitan area. About 1.5 crore rupees are being spent to clean the city, while the people’s issues remain unresolved. In such a situation, a meeting chaired by Bedbhushan was held to discuss how to clean the city, raise public awareness, and boost employee accountability. During the meeting, several problems of integrity were addressed. To encourage people to cooperate, an emphasis was placed on increasing user fees and improving awareness. SMC has informed us that a swachasathi has been assigned to visit 10 residences every day to raise awareness about cleanliness.

• Emphasizing the need for effective complaint resolution
• Plans to raise user fee
• 1.5 crore per month spent on cleaning work
• Still, Sambalpur is experiencing cleanliness issues

According to information, the amount of garbage in Sambalpur has increased in parallel with the city’s population growth. Previously, dedicated areas were designated for garbage disposal at various locations. Later, a door-to-door waste collection system was established. However, there have been disagreements between garbage collectors and the general public over a variety of issues. People claim that garbage collection lanes do not reach many areas regularly. Many people, however, refuse to pay the SMC’s garbage pickup fee (Rs. 30 per family every month). They are hesitant to pay the garbage pickup fee since the Metropolitan Corporation provides poor service.

• A Swachasathi will be visiting 10 houses daily

Bedbhushan stated that the Metropolitan Corporation has taken exceptional measures to address this conflict and to give services to the people while collecting payments from them. Garbage collectors should prioritize and address public problems. Similarly, a swachasathi has been assigned to visit 10 households in his neighborhood each day to raise awareness about cleaning.

However, the Sambalpur metropolitan region has around 1 lakh and 25 thousand houses. SMC currently operates around 100 door-to-door garbage pickup lanes. To handle the task, 92 volunteers and 27 supervisors were hired. Similarly, approximately 1100 people have been hired to supervise the cleaning operations. An average of Rs 1.5 crore per month is spent on the salary of garbage collection workers, street workers, and labourers.

Despite all of these efforts, Sambalpur remains an unhygienic city. There are several complaints, including trash in various locations, an unsanitary environment due to fallen garbage, and drain water flowing on the road in various locations due to a lack of frequent drain cleaning. As a result, Sambalpur failed to perform well in the national survey. Many people are dissatisfied that the public’s concern has not been resolved.