Sanitation-related drive starts in Delhi, AAP's Pathak takes dig at 'previous govt' in MCD

Now, this campaign regarding cleanliness of Delhi will run for about 50 days, he said.

A sanitation-related drive that will be run across all 12 MCD zones of Delhi began from Wednesday, as Mayor Shelly Oberoi appealed to the public to contribute to this campaign to make the national capital as clean and beautiful as other prominent cities of the world.

Delhi MLA Durgesh Pathak, who took part in the kick-off exercise in Chandni Chowk, claimed that the ''filth''left behind by the ''old government'' will be cleaned in 50 days.

The marathon inspection drive, part of ''Ab Delhi Hogi Saaf'' campaign, started from Balaji Mandir in Chandni Chowk Assembly constituency, passing through Dareeba Chowk, Kinari Bazaar, Paranthe Wali Gali, Maliwada, Nai Sadak, Fatehpuri, Tilak Bazaar, Nai Basti and ended at Peeli Kothi while covering surrounding areas, the mayor's office said in a statement.

It will run till the first week of March.

''By March, you will see that garbage has been cleared. We will go and clean each gully corner,'' the mayor had said on Tuesday.

On the first day, after ''walking about 20 km'', the cleanliness system and other civic facilities were reviewed, the statement said.

During the inspection, beginning from the City SP zone, the mayor took stock of garbage vulnerable points (GVPs) removed from an area, covering a stretch of 10 km, it said.

The ''previous government'' made Delhi ''very dirty in the last 15 years'', Pathak alleged, without naming anyone, adding, ''now we have to clean it''.

The BJP ruled the Municipal Corporation of Delhi for 15 years, before the AAP unseated it in the December 2022 civic polls.

There was no immediate reaction from the BJP.

Aam Aadmi Party's MCD in-charge and Rajinder Nagar MLA Pathak said when the AAP came to power in the MCD, ''we had promised to clean Delhi''.

''Where resources were needed for sanitation, resources were made available. Our only aim was to make Delhi clean... Now, this campaign regarding cleanliness of Delhi will run for about 50 days,'' he said.