More than six years after the launch of central government’s flagship project 'Swachh Bharat Mission' (SBM) on October 2, 2014, all municipal bodies across the country have been striving hard to keep pace with the parameters of cleanliness including implementation of waste segregation and turning their respective areas into open defecation free (ODF) zone.
However, the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) as a part of their ambitious campaign to beautify the twin-city has embarked on a silent yet significant and colorful mission which was deprived of much needed attention.
MBMC’s sanitation department led by deputy municipal commissioner Dr. Sambhajji Panpatte -- in association with local NGOs, municipal corporators, members of co-operative housing societies and alert citizens -- have started painting walls with picturesque designs themed on various social messages like 'Save girl child', 'Protect trees', 'Preserve the environment', 'Save water', 'Stop pollution', 'Promote cleanliness and hygiene'.
“Apart from the routine cleanliness duties and tackling other sanitation issues, we have trained our attention on eliminating black spots (walls at dead ends and corners of streets turned into garbage dumps) through the art of painting. We have also roped in students from Sir J.J. School of Art to brighten up the environment with their beautiful and eye-catchy paintings,” said Dr. Panpatte.
“It’s a very good move by the civic administration and we have received a positive response from the citizens as well. Society office bearers are coming out in support of the initiative,” said municipal corporator Hema Belani.
The MBMC claims to provide superior quality paint and other material to ensure that the work-of-art remains for a couple of years. Notably, the MBMC had climbed 111 steps from its 130th position in 2017 to clinch the 19th spot in the fifth edition of the Swachh Bharat Survey last year by scoring 4,608.14 out of 6,000 points in the pan-India ranking exercise.
