IEP Chandigarh, March 31
A delegation of office bearers of various Self Help Groups from Himachal Pradesh visited Chandigarh to celebrate Swachhotsav, a festival of cleanliness, and to learn about the best practices of the Municipal Corporation Chandigarh. The visit was to promote the convergence of Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) and Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana- National Urban Livelihood Mission (DAY-NULM).The delegation was welcomed with flowers and mementoes made from recycled items packed in hand-made cloth bags. All the standees and banners used during the event were biodegradable and made up of cloth, in an effort to promote zero waste event and sustainability.During the event, officials of the MCC briefed about the projects of MCC in a detailed presentation on best practices and functions, including solid waste management, processing of construction & demolition (C&D) waste, sewerage treatment plant and many more practices.The delegates also visited different projects handled by local self-help groups working with 3R projects like ‘Arpan’ which makes agarbattis from waste flowers, Jagruti, the self help group which makes herbal Holi Colors from floral waste, Bartan Bhandar and the self help group making art from waste materials. The delegates praised the work of SHGs and appreciated their work for reducing and reusing waste materials. They also visited Gaushala and saw the maintenance of community toilets handled by SHGs.The beauty of Chandigarh, including its roads and clean environment, was also appreciated by the delegates. They praised the cleanliness of the city and the solid waste management system, along with other projects of MCC.
