Indore Mayor Bhargava tells Opposition to wait for cleanliness survey dashboard before questioning ranking

Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava has responded after the Opposition raised questions over the cleanliness survey results and Indore's ranking. In a video released on social media, he said Indore is once again number one in the country in the individual city category.

Bhargava said the scores and standing of all cities will become known only after the Swachh Survekshan dashboard is released. According to him, the dashboard is usually released first and the awards ceremony follows, but this time the awards were given first. These awards were given under the One City-One Award criteria. The full picture will emerge once the dashboard is out, he said.

The mayor said cleanliness is Indore's habit and way of life. Through the tireless work of the sanitation workers (safai mitras), the city has once again taken the top place among individual cities. Targeting Opposition leaders, he said it was not right to question the efforts of the sanitation workers and the city's reputation before the results are out.

Bhargava also mentioned the Swachhta Jodi category, in which Indore was placed second. He said Indore, as a mentor city, helped Depalpur move forward. Last year Depalpur had been left behind with more than 1,700 points. This time Indore played an important role in taking it to second place in the country. For this reason, Indore has also won national recognition as a mentor, he said.

The mayor said Ahmedabad, Indore and Tirupati had already received an award in the Swachhta Jodi category. Because of the One City-One Award norms, they were not called up for awards in other leagues and categories. He claimed that if all cities were ranked, Indore would again be first.

Bhargava said the city belongs to the Opposition as much as it does to him, so they should wait for the city's results. Questioning the sanitation workers' efforts and damaging the city's image before the results are out is not right, he said. He said Opposition leaders were welcome to make personal allegations against him, and he had no objection. But questioning the sanitation workers' efforts and Indore's reputation for cleanliness is a betrayal of the city, he said.

The mayor appealed to the Opposition to be patient until the Swachh Survekshan dashboard is released. According to him, Indore's true standing will become clear as soon as the results are out.