SAHIWAL: The Clean and Green Punjab Index (CGPI) competition involving 12 different cities of Punjab opened here on Wednesday. It will continue till March 30.

Commissioner Muhammad Ahsan Waheed who opened the competition said Sahiwal was among 12 cities included in the competition along with Murree, Okara, Gujranwala, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, DG Khan, Sialkot, Gujrat and Bahawalpur.

After three months, cleanliness ranking will be done. The Sahiwal clean and green campaign will be supervised by a body called City Implementation Committee, with commissioner its convenor. The Sahiwal campaign was kicked off by cleaning College Chowk and its surrounding localities.

Azhar Dewan, Local Government deputy director and secretary of the committee, told Dawn the city had been divided into four zones, with each zone headed by Municipal Corporation engineers.

Under the competition desilting of sewerage and drainage lines would also be done. The total length of drainage and sewage lines was around 335 km.

Dewan Azhar said maintenance of public parks and green belts would also be carried out through divisional office of the Punjab Horticulture Authority.

DC Zeeshan Javed told Dawn maintenance and repair of 42 tubewells, eight overheads reservoirs and 30 filtration plants would also be done under the competition.

Azhar Dewan said a comprehensive citizen’s engagement plan had also been devised where cleanliness competitions would be organised among different localities of the city.

“Similar competition will also be organised among different traders’ organisations where traders’ bodies will make their Bazaars and streets free from garbage,” the commissioner told Dawn.

It is learnt that more than 330 corporation’s sanitary workers and staff will engaged for three months. Sahiwal city generates 162 tons of solid waste daily while the Municipal Corporation has capacity to dispose off just 142 tons through its regular staff. The rest of garbage is collected by gypsies on donkey carts.

The initiative is already in the works in seven cities of KP. The best performing city will be judged on the basis safe drinking water, solid waste management, liquid waste management, city beautification, cleanliness of streets, usability of parks, tree plantation, total sanitation/ hygiene and community participation.

Published in Dawn, January 2nd, 2020