Swachh Bharat survey lists PM Modi's Varanasi as one of the dirtiest cities in India

When Narendra Modi took Varanasi under his supervision as he contested the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from the constituency, hopes for the betterment of the city were raised by several notches.

But unfortunately, a nationwide survey- "Swachhta Sarvekshan" conducted by the Urban Development Ministry has ranked the city among the dirtiest in the country.

This is the second such survey carried out as part of the government's flagship Swachh Bharat Mission to make India clean and open defecation free by 2019. Mysuru, the quaint city in Karnataka, has held the title for the cleanest city for two years now.

The top five cities, in terms of cleanliness, include Tiruchirapalli, Chandigarh and Visakhapatnam. The survey was conducted in 73 cities across the country.

The underperformers

Dhanbad, Asansol, Patna, Meerut, Raipur, Ghaziabad, Jamshedpur, Kalyan Dombivilli and Itanagar have been included in the 'dirty city' list.

Despite being the launch pad for PM Modi's ambitious Swachh Bharat Mission, Delhi, except for NDMC, continues to be listed among India's dirtiest.

Swachh Varanasi?

The campaigns may have been convicing, but the Swachh Bharat dream seems far from reality in contemporary Varanasi. One of the 'holiest' cities in the country and a tourist-magnet, Varanasi got over Rs 20,000 crore since 2014 to upgrade its rundown civic infrastructure.

And yet, it ranks 65 in a list of 73 on account of its abysmal sanitation facilities. Of the Rs 62,009 crore earmarked for SBM till 2019, while the Centre's contribution is Rs 14,623 crore, state governments will contribute Rs 4874 crore.

The remaining contribution of Rs 42, 512 crore is to be borne mainly by the private sector.