Sambalpur, Dec. 20: More than 1,500 residents will join hands for the mass cleaning drive at the district headquarters hospital here on Sunday.

“Several organisations of the city have already given their consent to participate in the drive. We expect many more organisations to come forward. Volunteers will be divided into 30 units to carry out the cleanliness drive,” said co-ordinator of the programme Sudheer Pujari.

So far, 76 organisations have given their consent to take part in the drive. Representatives of social organisations met earlier this week to plan the event.

“This is an effort to make the citizens aware about the need for cleanliness. Through this drive, we would wish to send a message that the cleanliness of the hospital is the responsibility of every citizen,” Pujari said.

“I am happy that several organisations have come forward to take part in the cleanliness drive. The involvement of such a large number of people in the sanitation drive will help create awareness among the residents about their responsibility in keeping the area clean,” said Pushpa Mohapatra, a volunteer.

She urged the residents to come forward and join the sanitation drive.

As part of the drive, the general electric department will check and repair all electrical installations on the hospital premises that are not functioning properly. Similarly, the public health and engineering department will check all the sanitary fittings at the hospital and replace the defunct ones.

The public works department has been requested to lift construction garbage and carry out minor repairing work during the drive.

Sambalpur Municipality and the National Rural Health Mission will provide the cleaning equipment and vehicles for the cleaning drive.

A similar initiative was undertaken at the district headquarters hospital last year. Around 1,000 citizens had taken part in the mass sanitation drive. Similarly, 3,200 residents took part in another huge sanitation drive conducted on Ring Road on October 27 this year.