Guwahati, Dec. 16: Additional chief secretary M.G.V.K. Bhanu today appealed to the Guwahati residents to download the Swachhta app on their mobile phones.

With it, they can upload pictures of any civic related problem and it will be taken up by the officials concerned on that very day.

He said such public co-operation would help the city to bag a top position as one of the cleanest cities in the Swachh Survekshan contest, organised by the Union ministry of urban development under the Swachh Bharat Mission.

Altogether 500 cities are participating in it and they will be judged based on certain criteria like urban sanitation and open defecation free strategy.

Apart from Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Silchar and Nagaon are participating.

Senior officials of different government departments today took a pledge to do whatever they could to keep their localities, workplace and the city clean during a meeting held on the Swachh Survekshan here.

"This time we want Guwahati to feature among the top 10 cleanest cities in the country and for this the public will have to cooperate with the state government, district administration and civic bodies to keep it clean. I will request the public to download the Swachhta app on their phones. For instance, if a person comes across any area littered with garbage, he can click a picture and upload it on the app. The official concerned will have to address this civic problem on that very day as otherwise we will lose points under the Swachh Survekshan," said Bhanu.

"We will also form committees of shopkeepers in different locations of the city and involve them in keeping their surroundings clean. Those shopkeepers who have garbage near their shops will be fined by the Guwahati Municipal Corporation," said Bhanu.

The state government has started cleaning drives in different parts of the city as part of the Cleanliness Fortnight Campaign under the Swachh Bharat Mission, from today. It will continue till December 31.