Indore, touted as the cleanest city by the Swachh survey, has added another feather to its hat by becoming the first 'water plus' city of India.
"A city/ward/circle/zone can be declared as water-plus provided all wastewater released from households, commercial establishments ,drains, nullahs, etc is treated to a satisfactory level (as per CPCB norms), before releasing the treated wastewater to the environment," as per the Swachh Bharat Mission guidelines.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday, 11 August, took to Twitter to congratulate the citizens of Indore over the achievement.
"Heartiest congratulations to the citizens of Indore as it becomes the first SBM Water+ certified city under #SwachhSurvekshan2021. Indore has been an example for the whole nation for its determination and dedication towards cleanliness. May it continue bring glory to the state!" he said in a tweet.
As many as 1,746 public and 5,624 domestic sewer outfalls were tapped by the Indore Municipal Corporation to achieve the target. The efforts also helped free the city's Kanh and Saraswati rivers from sewer lines, Indore district collector Manish Singh told news agency PTI.
Indore civic commissioner Pratibha Pal told PTI that seven sewage treatment plants had been constructed in the city. As much as 110 million litres of treated water from these plants is being used per day.
In addition, 147 special kinds of urinals were installed in the city. The cleansing of water bodies, such as ponds and wells, was also carried out, Pal indicated to PTI.
Indore has also been adjudged the cleanest city in the country for the last four years consecutively under the Swachh Survekshan – a survey conducted under the Swachh Bharat Mission.
(With inputs from PTI)
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