The true 'Poonawalla' - This entrepreneur's initiative cleans half of Pune city

Indian cities are rarely the model of cleanliness, and Pune is no different. However, the The Adar Poonawalla Clean City movement is helping to keep at least half the city clean.

Launched in January 2015, this initiative is spearheaded by Krishnan Komandur, CEO of the Adar Poonawalla Clean city movement.

The initiative is mapped with the help of an app (myapcc), designed specifically to report garbage issues, and resolve it. The app is available on Google Play Store and Apple's App Store so local residents can download it and participate in the initiative. Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India in a chat with The Indian Express said,

"The recent cleanliness rankings by the Swachh Sarvekshan show that we have helped the civic body ensure that it is among the cleanest cities. This is done with a team of 300 employees and NGOs working diligently to keep our city clean."

An official statement from Adar himself says that the equipment deployed includes Glutton vacuum litter picker, trilo vacuum truck, and truck-mounted road sweepers, which use the best technology to pick up and clear the waste from the streets. In his capacity, he has also pledged Rs 100 crore for the movement. As of today, there are 170 trucks/machines and 300 employees for managing this activity covering more than 400 km of roads in Pune, which is roughly half the city.

The statement also said,

"The second phase will reach the whole city which is approximately 1000 km of roads and if this succeeds, the model can be replicated in other cities."

With the mission to rid India of its garbage menace, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in 2014. The mission, through the construction of toilets and increased sanitation awareness, aims to eliminate open defecation in India by October 2, 2019 — Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary.

Read More: Swachh Bharat: 5 citizen-driven initiatives that have brought India a step closer to cleanliness

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