As per the directives of Chief Secretary Sukhdev Singh and Urban Development and Housing Department (UDHD) Secretary Vinay Kumar Choubey, a special cleanliness fortnight is being observed by Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) from July 1 to July 15.

As a part of the fortnight, Municipal Commissioner Manoj Kumar inspected the ongoing work at the Indrapuri locality and also issued specific directions stating that apart from the daily cleanliness work, special sanitation should be done during this time across the city.

In this regard, Deputy Municipal Commissioner (DMC) Shankar Yadav chaired a meeting with the zonal officers on July 8 and took stock of the entire campaign.

“As per the instructions issued by the Chief Secretary and the UDHD Secretary, this cleanliness fortnight is being observed in Ranchi with an aim to make the City spic and span. As a part of this fortnight, Ranchi has been divided into four zones. The primary focus is to clear all the debris from the roads. Regular cleaning of drains is also being done during the rainy season to prevent a situation of water logging and ensure convenience to the residents,” said Yadav.

Under this campaign, along with sanitation work, the civic body is also spraying larvicide and bleaching powder to prevent an outbreak of vector borne diseases during monsoon. Mechanical sweeping machines are also being used on all the main roads of the City as a part of the special cleanliness drive. Cutting of tall grass blades, fogging and removal of heaps of garbage are also part of the cleanliness fortnight.

The DMC further instructed the zonal officials to ensure that door to door collection of garbage is being done on a daily basis and the number of trips of the vehicles involved in collecting trash from the roads should also be increased.

As many as four JCB’s, 20 tractors, three mechanical sweeping vehicles are being used by RMC during this period. In each zone two smaller vehicles have also been deployed by the civic body to speed up the cleaning process.

To ensure that the amount of garbage being collected by the vehicles is as per the prescribed standards, a weighing machine has been made functional at Jhiri dumping site. RMC officials further informed that if the waste is not in accordance to the agreed weight, then it is not considered as a trip as tractor owners are paid in lieu of the work done.