Fiasco of cleanliness drive in Veraval: Despite a long list on the invitation card, two MPs, a minister, MLAs and the collector were absent; Explained not to be present

On the call of the Prime Minister, a shramdaan and cleanliness drive was organized at Veraval Chowpatty on October 1 under the 'Swachhata Hi Seva' fortnight. The invitation card of the event organized by the Gir Somnath district administration and Veraval-Patan Municipality featured the names of several dignitaries including MP Rajesh Chudasama, Rajya Sabha MP Mansingh Parmar, Cabinet Minister Pradyumna Vaja, Zilla Panchayat President Dwarkadas Domadia. However, only a handful of people were present at the event. Discontent among social activists and leaders Social worker Deepak Sindhav questioned the absence of responsible people in the program. He said that if the responsible people themselves do not show seriousness in such a campaign, then how will public participation increase? He also expressed the feeling that more time was spent in reception and honour than in the cleanliness drive. On the other hand, Rotary Club leader Mansukh Suyani also stressed on the need not to limit the cleanliness drive to just photo sessions. Limited people, including sanitation workers, joined A limited number of people including sanitation workers of the municipality joined the programme. The issue of how important the presence of public representatives and officials of the administration is in such a campaign aimed at increasing public participation has come up again. MP Rajesh Chudasama said that he is out of the village. When contacted, MP Rajesh Chudasama, whose name was on the invitation as the chairperson of the event, said that he could not attend the event as he was out of town. Rajya Sabha MP Mansingh Parmar was in Gandhinagar When contacted, Rajya Sabha MP Mansingh Parmar, who was the guest of honour at the event, said that he could not attend the event as he was in Gandhinagar. The district panchayat president also did not attend the function When contacted, the other guest of the program, Zilla Panchayat President Dwarkadas Domadia, said that he too could not attend the event as he was in Gandhinagar. Attempt to contact other stakeholders Attempts were made to contact Bhagwan Barad, K.C. Rathod, Vimal Chudasama, District Collector Jitendra Singh Vaghela and District Development Officer Snehal Bhagkar. However, his phone could not be answered as he was constantly receiving a no-reply.