Charminar chosen Swachh Bharat icon

HYDERABAD,TELANGANA, 21/08/2017: The four minarets of Charminar are under repair on August 21, 2017, as the plaster work gave in sometime back in Hyderabad. The restoration work of the iconic structure, which began in 2013, is progressing slowly but steadily. The Archaeological Survey of India officials have embarked on a mission to spruce up the historic and more than 400-year-old Charminar, which has been the symbol of the City of Pearls with all its grandeur. Photo: Nagara Gopal

Charminar, Hyderabad’s historic emblem, has been chosen as a Swachh Bharat icon by the Union Government. The monument is one among the 10 icons chosen in the second phase of the Swachh Bharat Mission. The other nine are Gangotri, Yamunotri, Mahakaleshwar temple, Ujjain, Church and Convent of St. Francis of Assissi, Goa, Kaladi in Ernakulam, Gomateshwar in Shravanbelgola, Baijnath Dham, Devghar, Gaya in Bihar and Somnath temple in Gujarat. In all, 100 iconic cities would be identified across the country for development with focus on sanitation.

Sanitation and maintenance of each chosen icon would be handed over to a public sector company under corporate social responsibility initiative. Accordingly, Charminar would be handed over to NTPC. A meeting in this regard at Delhi discussed the action plan for the development work to be taken up around Charminar. GHMC Commissioner B. Janardhan Reddy was present.