High civic sense fuels Sindhudurg’s surge to the top

Sindhudurg, the tiny district in the Konkan region, has added yet another feather in its cap as it has been declared the cleanest district in the country. Some innovate projects, supported by the high civic sense of locals, have enabled the district to achieve this feat. This honour will help to boost tourism in this scenic land, officials said.

A first-ever survey of sanitation standards, undertaken by the Centre under its Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, has found Sindhudurg the cleanest district in the country. The survey was carried out in 75 districts of rural India to rank villages based on various parameters.

This is not the first time Sindhudurg has achieved laurels in cleanliness. A few months ago, it was declared one of the open defecation free districts in the state.

“Sindhudurg was the fertile ground for starting the cleanliness movement. Though it is a small district, people here are educated and have a good civic sense,” said Shekhar Singh, CEO, Sindhudurg Zilla Parishad.

The solid waste management (SWM) project, initiated by Ramdas Kokare — CEO of VNP — has been highly acclaimed even by international experts. He has implemented several innovative schemes like plastic road, zero garbage, biogas etc, which are now being used in the district. “We worked on the concept that there should be no landfill site. We segregate waste not just into the dry and wet categories, but into as many as 11 types. The segregation is done at the household level. From wet garbage, we produce biogas, whereas dry waste is used for making briquettes. While plastic bags are banned, the remaining plastic is used for making roads,” said Mr Kokare.