So the title says Indore has consistently performed the best in becoming the cleanest city of India.
But has it ever made you wonder why is it so?
Or how the city has managed to maintain their stance?
Well, if you ask me when I first discovered about it, I was as amazed as curious!
We know there are so many cities in our country which are ek se badhkar ek. Considering some like Pune, Chandigarh, Mysore, Bangalore etc, these cities are equally beautiful and developed but is it not strange that they still don't get the cleanest city badge?
So in order to quench my thirst of curiosity, I decided to ask all the Indoris in my circle about how Indore has achieved this position and is so well maintaining it!
Shalini, my friend from my school days has been in Indore for a long while. She says, “ Indore had inculcated the door to door collection of garbage. Now there's a catch. The administration implemented the door to door collection of garbage because they observed that garbage bins were the places for stray animals. The animals used to loiter around garbage bins in the hope of getting food and thus turning the surroundings into a filthy zone”
Aditya, another friend from my school who attended IIM Indore said, “ Usually people think that population and cleanliness can not go hand in hand. But Indore being the most populous city of Madhya Pradesh has emerged as India's cleanest city in the Swachh Survekshan 2018. There are several reasons but the one that impresses me is that the municipality has adopted new technical innovations to look after the waste management. Firstly the night cleaning technique, it has not only made the lives of the workers easy but also has helped to make the cleaning more efficient. Secondly, Indore Municipal Corporation uses vehicles of 3.3 cubic meter-capacity, while the rest of the country uses garbage collecting trucks of 1.8 cubic meter-capacity. This helps Indore to collect garbage from nearly 1,000 homes and that of other cities can collect garbage from approximately 300 homes.”
Madhu aunty is my mother's friend who is currently staying in Indore says, “ People have played a pivotal role in cleanliness. Here people are very enthusiastic about the idea of keeping their city clean. I and my friends are well aware of the values of cleanliness and encourage others to carry portable dustbins in their cars to avoid littering in public places. Some people here also make cleanliness as the eight vow in their marriages.”
Two of my cousins who visited Indore lately said, “ it was really cute to see the children made as the brand ambassadors of cleanliness. We saw committees teaching in schools and colleges to ensure cleanliness in the neighbourhood by making the children as the medium. After all, they are our future. And spreading the awareness of the benefits of cleanliness among the children is the best thing one can do to change the future. ”
Deepika, my colleague cum best friend, who soon might shift to Indore added, “ l am excited to shift to Indore. And why not? I have read so much about the management and cleanliness culture. I heard that the people of Indore make a conscious effort to carry out cleaning work after every community event. Isn't that great?”
Vishal, one of my friend from a past organization, who currently lives in Mumbai but misses Indore like hell says, “ I was told that Indore is mini Mumbai but I guess it is the time that Indore has emerged as something bigger. Amongst multiple initiatives taken by the administration and residents, the ban on polythene is the best. I consider polythene as a big reason for litter. People of Indore made a considerable shift in their usage of hazardous polythene bags and started using polythene bags of permissible thickness.”
And therefore, after speaking to half a dozen Indoris I have got an idea of how Indore as a city jointly strived to accomplish this goal.
Cheers to the spirit of Indoris and to the governing body for the stupendous success! You are a true inspiration to the world!