Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari visited Mayer Ghat in Bagbazar on Wednesday morning, flagging off a clean-up drive of ghats in the city ahead of International Yoga Day, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be in Calcutta.
Suvendu said the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) must make use of the Namami Gange funds to clean the Hooghly. He accused the previous Trinamool government of not providing land to set up sewage treatment plants.
The KMC has drawn up a week-long cleanliness drive, from Monday to Saturday, covering ghats, roads, parks and markets. Dubbed Swachhta Se Swagat, the initiative aims to ensure the city is spruced up ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit, a civic official said.
At Mayer Ghat, Suvendu took a broom and cleaned some steps leading down to the waters that looked cleaner than usual.
He said the government would take up projects to clean the Hooghly. “Ganga Mata should remain clean. We will keep it clean. Projects will be taken up under the Namami Gange scheme,” he said.
Urban development and municipal affairs minster Agnimitra Paul and several BJP MLAs from north Calcutta were present at Mayer Ghat.
KMC sources said KMC has plans to clean Gwalior Ghat, Baja Kadamtala Ghat and Armenian Ghat, among others, by Saturday.
“The ghats are under the port authorities, but we do clean the roads around the ghats and also the steps and seating in many of the ghats. Some of the ghats are cleaned only on special occasions,” said a KMC official.
On Thursday, Suvendu will visit a primary health centre in Bhowanipore’s Ward 72, part of the Bhabanipur Assembly constituency that he represents. He is likely to reach the health unit near Ladies Park at 7.45am. A cleanliness drive will be carried out around the health centre and the adjoining neighbourhood.
Suvendu will arrive at KMC headquarters on SN Banerjee Road at 6.30am on Friday to flag off a marathon to raise awareness about cleanliness. On Monday, he launched the six-day cleanliness drive from the KMC headquarters.