Ambikapur gets 5-star rating as 'garbage-free city'; Swachhata Didis feel motivated

The nearly 450 women sanitation workers, locally known as ‘Swachhata Didi’, engaged with the Ambikapur municipality in Chhattisgarh resolve to work harder to keep the city clean and free of diseases such as COVID-19, as the city bags five- star rating and gets adjudged as a ‘garbage-free’ city by the Union Housing ad Urban Affairs Ministry.

Surguja (Chhattisgarh): With Ambikapur in North Chhattisgarh bagging five- star rating and being adjudged as a ‘garbage-free’ city by the Union Housing ad Urban Affairs Ministry in its rankings released on Tuesday, the nearly 450 women sanitation workers, locally known as ‘Swachhata Didi’, engaged with the city’s municipality feel encouraged and resolve to work harder to keep the city clean and free of diseases such as COVID-19.

“We are working very hard to ensure that our country is protected from this disease, and the fact that our efforts have been recognised makes us very happy, “ said Naresari Kerketta, a sanitation worker.

Her feelings were echoed by Sanju Bakhla, another sanitation worker, who said, “It feels very good that Ambikapur has been given a five-star rating. All the women working with SLRM have worked very hard.”

Appreciating the efforts put in my the Swachhata Didis, Shashikala Bhagat, who supervises the sanitation workers, said, “All the credit goes to the women working on the ground. Such kind of recognition boosts their morale and motivates them to work harder...the women did feel a little demotivated when the country was hit by the coronavirus disease but then they decided that they need to work harder to keep their city clean and free from all kinds of diseases.”

The Ambikapur municipality has taken several measures to ensure that its workforce is safe amid the COVID-19 outbreak while dealing with the city’s garbage. They have all been provided with masks and sanitisers made by the municipality itself.

As per official estimates, the women sanitation workers collect over 18,000 metric tonnes of garbage from Ambikapur in a year and are paid a monthly salary of Rs. 7,000.

This is not the first time that Ambikapur has been recognised for its efforts towards cleanliness. The city had bagged a similar five-star rating for the year 2018-19 as well.

Apart from Ambikapur, five other cities - Rajkot, Surat, Mysuru, Indore and Navi Mumbai - have been rated 5-star while 65 cities are 3-star and 70 cities have been rated 1-star.