Swachh Marathon: Just running doesn’t clean Mysuru’s streets!

A pathetic scene at Naidu Nagar in Mysuru.

Suggestions to make campaign more effective

Sir,

Apropos the news item titled ‘Swachh Marathon on Feb. 8: MCC Commissioner releases posters’ in Star of Mysore dated Feb. 3, I would like to share my views about the Swachh Marathon.

While having a symbolic marathon, Mysuru City Corporation (MCC), local communities and NGOs can organise targeted, regular clean-up drives in specific, polluted areas, as “just running” alone doesn’t clean our streets!

Instead of temporary events, focus should be on daily, systematic garbage collection and disposal to ensure a truly “garbage-free city.”

To make the campaign more effective, I suggest the following steps:

1. Increase public awareness through regular cleanliness drives and educational programmes in schools and communities.

2. Place more dustbins at easily accessible points for proper waste disposal.

3. Encourage citizens to take personal responsibility for keeping surroundings clean.

4. Impose fines for littering in public places to discourage careless behaviour.

5. Hold frequent cleaning drives with local volunteers.

I hope these steps will help in making the Swachh Mysuru Abhiyan a success and improve the cleanliness of our public spaces.

– Dr. T. Mruthyunjaya Swamy, Chemistry Lecturer, Mysuru, 4.2.2026

You can also mail us your views, opinions, and stories to voice@starofmysore.com

This post was published on February 6, 2026 5:55 pm