Abhyankar Nagar-Madhav Nagar cleanest locality

Nagpur: Leaving many tony areas of the city behind, Abhyankar Nagar-Madhav Nagar of south-west Nagpur has emerged as the cleanest locality in the Swachh Mohalla Competition organized by Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) and Nagpur@2025. Rahate Nagar slum on Besa Road is among the 20 winners.The competition, organized for the first time in the city as part of Swachh Bharat Mission, saw 469 localities taking part. Surve Nagar, also in south-west Nagpur, and Ganesh Nagar, near Jagnade Square in south Nagpur, stood second and third respectively. NMC will execute works worth ₹25 lakh in each of these three areas as the prize.

NMC deputy commissioner Dr Gajendra Mahalle said the 469 participants were satisfactory. “Competition was on 17 parameters. On self-declared data of participants, evaluation was done in three phases — January 21 to February 8, March 11-April 5 and April 24-May 25. Motive was to create awareness among citizens about advantages of clean city, so people take ownership of their localities. We plan to hold the contest with some improvements every year. Duration of survey will be increased next time,” he said.All India Institute of Local Self Government (AIILSG) conducted the evaluation through field observations, data entry and analysis. Regional director Jayant Pathak said, “Active participation of local residents especially women and senior citizens was seen in over 30 areas. In some localities, especially Surve Nagar, citizens have been creating awareness and cleanliness activities for last many years. Another highlight was dedication of NMC’s sanitary inspectors and workers towards their areas,” he said.Pathak added youths were very active in Rahate Nagar slum. “Two bins were kept in front of shanties for garbage segregation, which was a big achievement. Three areas continued same performance since beginning. Remaining localities improved in every phase. In a good sign, highest number of participants were from south, east and north Nagpur,” he said.As per NMC data, there were fewer entries from the posh areas. There was not a single entry from Civil Lines while Dharampeth zone had the fewest (19) entries and Hanuman Nagar zone had highest 58 entries.The evaluation parameters included garbage segregation at source, vulnerable points, ban on single-use plastic bags, daily collection, usage of Swachhata app, wet waste composting, condition of garden, public spaces, parking spaces, public toilet management, disposal of pet poop, innovative solutions etc.

Approach road for Aavin Nagar in offing

Residents of Aavin Nagar, Jubilee Town, Marudhu Pandiyan Nagar, and Melamadai in Madurai may soon have an alternative approach road. The proposed road would run along the Vandiyur tank bund and Melamadai sluice, and permission to construct it is being sought from the Public Works Department (PWD). A new road is needed as there is currently no existing road along the bund. The feasibility of the road has been inspected and is deemed viable.

Bhaskar Nagar reeks of waste, residents fume

Residents and students in the Bhaskar Nagar area of Guwahati are suffering due to the stench from a nearby garbage dumping site. The unhygienic conditions pose serious health risks to the over 600 students in the Bhaskar Vidyapeeth Higher Secondary School. Complaints have been made about the inconsistent collection of waste by NGO vehicles, leading residents to dump waste near the school. Efforts to clean the area have been unsuccessful due to the bad habits of some locals. Concerns have been raised about the impact on the health of students and the need for awareness drives to address the issue.