Mysuru: Hundreds of Pourakarmikas, who sweep our streets and lift garbage from our homes, came in for immense praise yesterday where speakers complimented them for their selfless service that has made Mysuru grab the Numero Uno position in Swachh Bharat Rankings in the Medium Cities category.

Addressing a press conference at the Old Council Hall of the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) yesterday, Mayor B. Bhagyavathi, who received the award from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Indore on Sunday, said that it is a matter of pride that the city has bagged the top position though it slipped to the eighth position in the Cleanest City category (above 10 lakh population). She attributed the success to the Pourakarmikas.

She said that she is saddened as the city’s position slipped. But, she expressed happiness as the city has emerged as the cleanest city among the cities with a population of three lakh to one million, in Swachh Survekshan-2018.

MCC Commissioner K.H. Jagadeesha said that Pourakarmikas will be felicitated as they play an important role in maintaining the beauty of the city. He said that the city has not lagged behind in maintaining either its cleanliness or beauty. But the city slipped to the eighth position in the third ‘Swachh Survekshan-2018’, covering 4,203 cities, because of language problem between the surveyors and the people.

The Commissioner clarified that Mysuru has not lagged behind in any way when it came to maintaining cleanliness. Special emphasis was laid on Ward-level cleanliness and MCC had initiated door-to-door campaigns, asking residents to be responsible while discarding waste.

“Brand Ambassadors Javagal Srinath, Pramoda Devi Wadiyar, Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, Yoga Champ Kushi, Swami Muktidanandaji of Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama and former MLC D. Madegowda had extended their full support to the MCC’s initiatives,” he added.

According to MCC Health Officer Dr. D.G. Nagaraju, the surveyors communicated with the people in Hindi and the people did not understand the language. But the authorities took the information in Kannada as the MCC officials requested them.

The objective of the survey is to encourage large scale citizen participation and create awareness amongst all sections of society about the importance of working together towards making towns and cities a better place to live in. “We are happy that this time, residents of Mysuru had actively participated in the survey and gave their valuable inputs,” Dr. Nagaraju said.

Dy. Mayor Indira Mahesh, Corporators Ashwini, Snake Shyam, Sameena Jabeen, V. Shailendra, M.V. Ramprasad, Shoukath Pasha, ex-Mayor B.L. Bhyrappa and Health Officer Dr. Ramachandra were present.