After banishing plague a decade ago, former municipal commissioner of Surat SR Rao is back to clean the city in three days.
SURAT: After banishing plague out of Surat a decade ago and turning it into one of India’s cleanest cities, former municipal commissioner of Surat SR Rao is back in Surat and wants to clean the garbage, debris and silt from the city in three days. The Surat municipal corporation which usually cleans about 1,000 tonnes of solid waste from the city is currently cleaning about 20,000 tonnes per day.
Rao who is currently holding charge of urban development and health departments as principal secretary has been made in-charge of relief operations in Surat.
“Thousands of tonnes of garbage was left behind by the flood waters in Surat city. The unprecedented and unimaginable quantities of waste made it very difficult to tackle the situation. However, the administration is working full time to clear the waste and we are aiming to complete the entire operation in the next 72 hours, that is by Sunday,” Rao told DNA.
Officer on Special Duty, Guruprasad Mahapatra, said, “Surat generates roughly 1,000 to 1,200 tonnes of waste per day, most of which is lifted by the SMC. However, in the wake of the floods, the quantity of waste being lifted is close to 20,000 tonne per day currently. The district administration and the government machinery are working for 17 to 18 hours a day to remove the dirt and mud from the city.”
Mahapatra informed that the main roads are being cleaned on a priority basis, which would be followed by the inner roads, the smaller lanes and streets.
Mahapatra further claimed that there is no basis in reports that number of patients suffering from gastroenteritis, typhoid and malaria is on the rise following the floods.
“The disease level in Surat is much lower than permitted levels. Hardly 1.5 per cent of the total population has been affected, while usually during the rainy season, around 5 per cent of the population gets affected,” he said. Officials also said that all precautions are being taken against the outbreak of diseases in Surat.
Flood abates
Flood fury seems to have subsided in most areas of Gujarat, barring Narmada and Bharuch districts where fresh warning has been issued for evacuating 16 villages as Sardar Sarovar Dam of Narmada Project continued to overflow at 124.63 meters. Residents of 16 villages in Narmada and Bharuch districts have been put on alert after heavy water inflow continued from catchments of Madhya Pradesh.
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