Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency is ranked as low as 418 in the 476-city ranking. Modi’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan seemed to have little effect at Varanasi. Corrective measures were initiated after Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma, who has been designated as the minister in charge of Varanasi, informed Modi about the cleanliness problem. Tentatively called ‘Divya Varanasi’ or ‘Divya Kashi’, the drive aims to involve local youth and residents to make Varanasi’s roads and ghats clean. It will be launched on Teacher’s Day.
Points to Note
- The much venerated cows that are ubiquitous on the temple town’s streets are likely to be shifted safely to cowsheds as part of a drive to lift the cleanliness status of Varanasi.
- A 21-member core team will be set up which will have on board local artists, college students, the vice chancellor of the Banaras Hindu University, representatives of various stakeholders from the city.
- This team will coordinate cleanliness efforts that will be spearheaded by teams of college students.
- The exercise will be organised largely over weekends so that students can participate.
- A Facebook page and Twitter handle will be launched on September 5 to allow Varanasi residents to post pictures of areas found dirty.
Test Your Knowledge
Name the person from congress who represented Congress party in 2014 LS Election?
