Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The image of Indore, celebrated for holding the title of India’s cleanest city for eight consecutive years, has taken a beating as severe sanitation lapses have surfaced on Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya’s UTD campus. Despite the city’s national reputation for cleanliness, regular garbage collection on the campus has reportedly come to a halt.
On Friday, vice chancellor Prof Rakesh Singhai expressed strong displeasure after seeing widespread filth during his morning visit. He immediately summoned officials from the contracted housekeeping agency. Assistant registrar Dr Vishnu Mishra accompanied the VC as they pointed out heaps of garbage lying unattended on the premises.
According to the agency’s supervisor, 120 housekeeping staff members had been assigned to the university. However, not a single worker was seen on-site at that time.
Angered by the negligence, the VC reprimanded the supervisor on the spot. Yet, despite the confrontation, garbage was not removed throughout the day. The university has now ordered to stop the agency’s payments until further notice.
Kamathen Housekeeping has held the housekeeping contract for the past three to four years and is responsible for cleaning the RNT Marg Campus–UTD buildings, IET campus, the vice chancellor’s residence and hostels. Although the agency claims to have 120 staff members on paper, only 70–80 workers reportedly show up for duty.
For several days, trash has not been collected from UTD campus, prompting multiple department heads to lodge complaints with the VC. On Friday morning, at around 7 AM, while cycling through the area, Singhai noticed the lack of cleanliness and called the agency’s director, Ram Kumar, to the spot.
From the IMS building to the university auditorium, the VC conducted an on-ground inspection, showing the strewn garbage to the agency representatives. Only seven to eight workers were found present during the inspection, further aggravating the situation.
