Srinagar surges into top 10 cleanest cities list

 This is what a survey by a reputed English magazine has revealed in its “Exclusive Best Cities Report 2014”. In “Art of Smart Can Technology Transform India’s Chaotic Cities,” the India-based magazine has rated Srinagar among top cleanest cities. While Chandigarh, the city developed by French –Swiss architect Le Corbusier, figures at No 1 to be followed by Shimla and Thiruvantanthapuram, Srinagar is at No 9 to be followed by Navi Mumbai and Pune at Nos 10 and 11.
“Chandigarh is perhaps the kind of urban environment Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in mind when he launched the Swatch Bharat mission on  October,” the magazine states while highlighting country’s first planned City after partition.
But while other Cities in Top of The Lot have been known for cleanliness, picturesque Srinagar a few years back got a major setback of being rated among dirtiest. In  2010 a national survey on sanitation in cities, Srinagar figured at the bottom.
The survey by the union Urban Development Ministry had ranked Srinagar at 420 among 423 cities in the sanitation ratings, a disrepute which hogged the newspaper headlines. Thereafter for around two years, City’s sanitation remained a debate in government and public circles.
As Srinagar struggled for revival on  cleanliness, 2012 brought a turning point when Dr GN Qasba took charge as SMC Commissioner. Known for his marketing skills, this new “City Father” coined a challenging slogan for the civic body: Clean Srinagar, Green Srinagar!
Though initially much criticized as hype, this slogan put SMC to litmus test of removing 400 odd metric tons of garbage a day from the summer capital housing some 14 lakh people.
From routine morning clean up operations to special sanitation drives, the SMC efforted on multiple fronts including introduction of Hopper Vehicles and the Smart Bins which directly empty into Compactors.  For areas like tourist of Boulevard on the lake Dal banks, nocturnal sanitation was started initially on trial basis in this conflict zone where night hour movement has often been feared as troublesome.
But with situation having improved since ‘90s turmoil, the nocturnal drive picked up. And when it was close to celebrate completion of a year, devastative September -2014 floods washed away many a development including pinning of flower pots along the City center.
With over 70,000 houses and equally big number of commercial establishments destroyed, household and other goods were reduced to muck. And  this all mounted on the roads putting the civic body to a never before challenge. Instead of routine, some 10 times more 4,000 metric tons had to be removed, everyday.
Though by October flood waters had receded, experts sounded epidemic alarm. “But cleanliness as managed by the SMC prevented any outbreak,” acknowledges noted medico and Director SK Institute of Medical Sciences Soura Dr Showkat Ali Zargar. The sanitation efforts remained so visible that even the then Chief Minister Omar Abdullah appreciated the civic body for having prevented any epidemic.
While Srinagar has made it to the list of top 10 cities in cleanliness, the SMC Commissioner attributes the success to his sanitation team, mostly Safai Walas. “We took many initiatives but it was our Safai Walas who worked day and night. The Srinagarites on the other hand equally cooperated with us. And if this synergy goes on, the day is not far off when Srinagar will be the cleanest City.”
“But then,” Dr Qasba instantly adds, “floods left an impact and City is on way for a major comeback.” “It needs to be cleaner, it needs to be greener, every time more than before!”