Piloted by Greater Noida residents, ‘swachh’ drive makes government listen

GREATER NOIDA: Residents of Noida Extension finally have some respite, as after two months of continuous effort to clean up the roads and service lanes in the upcoming hub of Greater Noida, the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA) has handed over a dedicated mechanical sweeper to them before the weekend, enabling them to clean up the area whenever they think it is needed.

The street-cleaning exercise started on Thursday with the Greater Noida residents taking to the streets to supervise the mechanical sweeping at sectors 16 and 16C. The residents of Eros Sampoornam, Panchsheel Greens, Eco Village 2 gathered for the cleaning drive. A Noida authority official was in charge of the cleaning exercise. The residents of Noida Extension had started cleaning up all the streets and statues in the area since May 13. Previously, the residents had cleaned up sectors 16, 16B and 16C using their own resources.

“As we are going to support the Greater Noida authority in cleaning up the area, we have divided the region into four zones to carry out the mechanical sweeping. Zone 1 will cover sectors 4, 16 and some parts of Tech Zone 4, zone 2 will cover sectors 16B, 16 and a few other parts of Tech Zone 4, zone 3 will cover Sector 1 and some other parts of Tech Zone 4, and zone 4 comprises Sector 2 and rest of the parts of Techzone 4 and Sector 3.” Abhishek Kumar, president, Noida Extension Flat Owners Welfare Association (Nefowa), said.

Nefowa has placed a request for 32 labourers, four trolleys and eight water tankers to facilitate a massive clean-up of the region.

Following the cleaning up exercise, the residents have also asked the GNIDA to provide 16,000 plants and 10 gardeners to carry out a plantation drive in the region during the monsoon months.

“We have come on board as partners for the drive. With the infrastructure support of the Greater Noida authority, we want to make this area one of the cleanest and pollution free zones of Greater Noida. At present it is one of the most polluted areas of the city,” Kumar added.

“We appreciate the initiative taken by the residents and we will support them to help clean up their neighbourhood,” GNIDA officers said while commenting on their collaborative effort with the Noida Extension citizens.