Swachh Survekshan (sanitation survey) results have snuffed out hopes of Bhubaneswar to emerge among the country's cleanest cities. The capital city has been ranked 24th among the 73 contesting cities, while Mysore has walked away with top honours. Cuttack is even worse off at 59. Sandeep Mishra of The Telegraph figures out the difference between the two cities - one a topper and the other an aspiring leader.

Bhubaneswar: The real picture 
The contesting cities were adjudged on six parameters (see chart) set by the Quality Council of India (QCI) that conducted the survey on behalf of the Union ministry of urban development. A crucial component of the survey was citizens’ feedback. In their feedback to the QCI, 87 per cent of Bhubaneswar residents have said that they had individual toilets or latrines. Another 41 per cent said that there was provision of daily door-to-door garbage collection in the city. While only 22 per cent of them commended the city for its cleanliness, another 29 per cent said dustbins could be easily spotted to drop wastes. However, a poor 19 per cent of the people said they were able to find toilets within 500 meters of any place in the city. There is some consolation for the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation as only 16 per cent of the respondents said that public or community toilets in the city were in a badshape.

Consolation prize However, all is not lost for the state capital. While announcing the list in New Delhi on Monday, Union urban development minister Venkaiah Naidu list the smart city aspirant among the aspiring leader for a clean city tag. As an appreciation of the city’s efforts towards cleanliness, the Naidu handed over the Top Movers Award (East Zone) to mayor Ananta Narayan Jena and municipal commissioner Krishan Kumar.