NMC provided shelter homes and shifted the devotees to nearby educational institutions and various government office premises in the vicinity
Nagpur: The sudden heavy downpour in the afternoon on Wednesday had left lakhs of devotees, who had come to Deekshabhoomi for Dhammachakra Pravartan Din celebration, in a frenzy. However, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) had prepared itself to deal with the situation. NMC officials and employees, manning a Control Room, immediately informed the followers about shelter homes through public address systems and shifted them to nearby educational institutions and various government office premises in the vicinity.
According to the instructions of Municipal Commissioner and Administrator Radhakrishnan B, all arrangements were made by the NMC for the convenience of the devotees coming from every corner of the country. The city administration with NMC Control Room was fully prepared for any situation that may arise due to rain.
In view of the situation created by the rain, the officers and employees of the Municipal Corporation Control Room immediately informed the followers about the shelter centres through loudspeakers from the Control Room located at Annabhau Sathe Chowk. The office of Deputy Director Health near Deekshabhoomi, Industrial Training Institute Complex, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar College, Social Welfare Office, Government Chitrakala Mahavidyalaya premises, RS Mundele High School, Paranjpe School, Dharampeth High School, Saraswati High School, Shankar Nagar along with ten schools of Subhash Nagar and NMC’s Valmiki Nagar School were provided to the thousands of followers as shelters during the rain. The devotees who came from outside expressed satisfaction on the arrangements made by the NMC
Under the guidance of Municipal Commissioner and Administrator Radhakrishnan B, all the Executive Engineers, Education Officer, Deputy Commissioner (Solid Waste Management) Dr. Gajendra Mahalle, Assistant Commissioners Kiran Bagde, Ganesh Rathod, under the leadership of Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) and Nodal Officer of Deekshabhoomi, Milind Meshram, Ashok Patil, Prakash Varde, Ghanshyam Pandhare, the employees of different departments worked in coordination so that the devotees did not face any kind of inconvenience.
According to a report, working non-stop for three days at Deekshabhoomi during the 66th Dhammachakra Pravartan Din celebrations, around 450 sanitary workers of Nagpur Municipal Corporation collected about 200 metric tonne (MT) of garbage on Wednesday and Thursday. With the help of four refuse compactor and 20 pickup vehicles from AG Enviro — the firm entrusted to lift garbage — and 200 drums, the civic body transported the garbage to Bhandewadi dumping yard.
Municipal Commissioner Radhakrishnan B had deployed civic officials from various departments round the clock from Tuesday and the team worked till Thursday. The 450 sanitary workers worked in three different shifts and succeeded in ensuring garbage-free celebrations at Deekshabhoomi and its vicinity on October 4, 5 and 6, said Deputy Municipal Commissioner Dr Gajendra Mahalle.
On Wednesday, the team collected 84.57MT waste, while on Thursday it was 92.66MT garbage.
NMC had also arranged 900 temporary toilets and four mobile toilets for the event, and 90 employees ensured sanitation and hygiene there. Furthermore, Orange City Water Private Limited and NMC’s Water Works Department provided at least 200 temporary drinking water taps in the area, the report said.
The municipal administration and the 24×7 control room was prepared for any difficulties arising due to rain. After the arrival of devotees for darshan on the occasion of 66th Dhammachakra Enforcement Day in the capital, there was sudden heavy rain on Wednesday afternoon. According to the instructions of the Manapak Commissioner and Administrator Radhakrishnan B, arrangements for the stay of the citizens had already been made in the situation created by the rain. Hence the followers were seen taking shelter in the shelter centers set up by the Nagpur Municipal Corporation. Devotees got relief from the facilities being provided by the Municipal Corporation in and around Deekshabhoomi.
