Kolkata, June 15 (IANS) West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari is scheduled to visit the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) headquarters on Monday to launch a six-day citywide cleanliness campaign titled “Welcome to Cleanliness”, ahead of the International Day of Yoga celebrations on June 21.

In a significant outreach initiative, the KMC has invited all former councillors, irrespective of their political affiliations, to attend the programme. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Trinamool Congress (TMC) legislators from Kolkata have also been invited. Former Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim has also received an invitation.

According to senior officials of the civic body, this is the first time former councillors have been formally invited to participate in such a civic programme. While the Chief Minister has recently begun inviting opposition MPs and MLAs to administrative meetings, extending invitations to former KMC councillors marks a new approach.

Sources indicated that several former councillors, including Debashis Kumar and Asim Basu, are expected to attend the event. However, a few sitting councillors, who had earlier supported efforts to identify an alternative mayor following Firhad Hakim’s resignation, are likely to stay away from the programme.

The cleanliness drive will be carried out across Kolkata and will conclude on June 20. It will cover all 144 wards of the city and focus on improving sanitation and public cleanliness ahead of the large-scale Yoga Day celebrations.

During the programme, the Chief Minister is expected to address civic officials, public representatives and guests. He is also likely to outline the state government’s development plans and civic initiatives to be undertaken through the Kolkata Municipal Corporation.

This will be Adhikari’s first visit to the Municipal Hall as Chief Minister for an official KMC programme. Civic officials said extensive preparations have been underway since Saturday. BJP municipal representatives, led by MLA and councillor Sajal Ghosh, are expected to welcome Adhikari at the venue.

The visit assumes significance as no Chief Minister has attended a government programme at the Kolkata Municipal Hall in recent years. Officials said the event could mark a notable moment in the civic body’s administrative history.

The cleanliness campaign also comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Kolkata on June 21 for the International Day of Yoga celebrations. Modi is scheduled to participate in the main event on Red Road, while programmes linked to Yoga Day will be organised across the city.

Meanwhile, state Municipal Affairs Minister Agnimitra Paul has already launched a dedicated mobile application to monitor and support cleanliness initiatives across West Bengal. The KMC’s six-day campaign is expected to complement those efforts in the run-up to Yoga Day.

–IANS

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