The countdown for Diwali has begun with heavy-duty home cleaning to welcome the Goddess of Wealth, Laxmi. But for Thane, this Diwali is going to be even cleaner, as citizens and civic authorities have taken up the onus and the brooms to keep the surroundings of their central suburb clean too.
On Sunday, the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) and over five lakh zealous Thane locals picked up the brooms and cleaned the city from morning to evening. Over 25,000 school children, more than 200 housing societies from Ghodbunder road to Mumbra, rickshaw drivers, youth, over 500 bikers, spread the message of cleanliness through the city's streets. Though it was the end of their 23-day Swachhata Abhiyaan (cleanliness campaign) the spirit of cleanliness will continue this Diwali and even later.
"This is not a one-off drive, we want to instill the spirit of ownership for the city. Hence, we will ensure that each and every nook and corner of the city is cleaned now, during Diwali and even after that," said Sandip Malvi, Deputy Commissioner and Public Relations officer, TMC. "People are welcome to join us and help clean it."
The October 23 event is also slated to enter the Limca Book of Records. "The earlier record is of over four lakh people cleaning the city. In our event on Sunday more than five lakh people participated in the cleanliness drive. We are doing documentation to send to Limca Book of records for this major feat," malvi further said.
Even twin cities of Dombivli and Kalyan will be spruced clean before and after Diwali this year. "There will be mass cleaning across the city on October 29, a day prior to Diwali, as a part of our monthly cleanliness drive. And during Diwali our 'Zero Garbage Plan' will be functional wherein our staff will clean the streets both during the day as well as night," said Prasad Thakur, Public Relations Officer, Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC).
Even the residents of Ulhasnagar can expect the hygiene situation to improve during Diwali. "When I took over as Commissioner of Ulhasnagar apart from illegal constructions, I noticed the widespread garbage spread across the city. So, I have instructed our staff to clean the city and update me every day about it," said Rajendra Nimbalkar, Commissioner, Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation (UMC). Nimbalkar in fact keeps a tab on the daily cleaning of each and every ward of the city through WhatsApp. The officials are required to put up pictures of cleaned spots and if there is any picture of garbage lying anywhere they are quickly summoned by him to clean it.
