Garbage collection vans ditch Swachh tunes for census calls

Bhopal: In a pivot, Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) has repurposed its garbage collection vehicles to double as rolling census ambassadors. Gone are the familiar Swachh Bharat jingles blaring from speakers; now, these daily door-to-door rounds pump out vital messages on the upcoming national census. Vehicles navigating Bhopal's bustling lanes—from Old Bhopal's narrow bylanes to the wide avenues of Arera Colony—now broadcast simple Hindi announcements.BMC official hailed the move as ‘low-cost, high-impact.' "Our garbage vans trucks visit every ward daily, reaching 4.5 lakh households. Why not leverage this for census literacy?". Data shows Bhopal's urban density—over 25 lakh residents—poses enumeration challenges.Soon there is a plan to have QR codes on vehicles linking to the census portal.This fusion of sanitation and statistics aligns with national directives from the Registrar General, emphasizing 100% coverage. As Bhopal's garbage vans rumble on, they aim to become symbols of civic innovation: turning trash collection into a tool for democratic data. Officials eye expansion to water tankers and other BMC vehicles next.