Visakhapatnam MP M. Sribharat and District Collector M. Abhishikth Kishore on Friday called for collective efforts by citizens, elected representatives and officials to improve cleanliness standards in Visakhapatnam. Speaking at the district-level Swachh Andhra awards ceremony held at the VMRDA Children’s Arena on Gandhi Jayanti, they said public participation was essential to maintaining a clean city. Awards were presented to 68 individuals and organisations in various categories.

Mr. Kishore said Visakhapatnam had modern sanitation systems, mechanised sanitation facilities, a waste-to-energy plant and equipment for removing waste from the sea. He said the city should aim to achieve cleanliness standards comparable to Japan within the next two to three years. He stressed that sanitation workers alone could not achieve the goal and urged citizens to keep their homes and streets clean.

Mr. Sribharat said cleanliness should be treated as a social responsibility and called for public participation in sanitation and environmental protection.

Government Whip and MLC Vepada Chiranjeevi Rao said behavioural change among citizens was necessary alongside the efforts of sanitation workers and officials. East constituency MLA Velagapudi Ramakrishna Babu urged citizens not to dump waste on roads and to hand over wet and dry waste to collection vehicles.