The Swachh Bharat cleanliness drive initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi , 8 years back, on Gandhi Jayanti day , October 2, has flopped miserably in the State and serves no useful purpose, despite the huge sums of money spent, even as Goa keeps getting dirtier by the day. This is amply testified by this year's 'Swachh Survekshan 2022' report, released by President Murmu in which Goa has failed to find a place even among the top 100 rankings of Urban Local Bodies(ULB) for cleanliness. It is time the Goa govt takes a serious view of this and the fast deteriorating situation in the state, by cracking the whip on the local civic bodies viz municipalities and village panchayats, for failing to keep their surroundings clean. Porvorim, for example is one such case where one can hardly walk on the pavements that are littered with dirt, plastic bags, paper plates, blobs of cowdung and urine of squatting cattle, etc. There is no arrangement by the concerned panchayat to keep the area clean, despite several complaints by the residents. Sad to say, but similar situation also prevails in other cities and beaches in Goa which have become an eyesore to the public. Indore in Madhya Pradesh has set us a wonderful example of being adjudged the cleanest city for the sixth consecutive year---- a city where it is difficult to find even a piece of paper on the roads. Can we ever hope to see the same in our tiny state of Goa?
