Championing Cleanliness…
“Why is the Show only for three days? You need to keep it open for a week.”
This spontaneous reaction by Smt Sheila Dikshit, the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Delhi, at the Clean India Show 2010 at NSIC Grounds, Okhla, set the pace for the three-day annual cleaning event. The very fact that she set apart time to inaugurate the show and spent quality time visiting the stalls, has been motivating. For years, Clean India Journal and Clean India Shows have been trying to impress upon our leaders that unless they recognise and support the campaign for cleanliness of very high standards, all our efforts will not bear the optimum results. The visit of the Chief Minister of Delhi has indeed increased the enthusiasm of the Indian Cleaning Industry.
The organiser of the show, Virtual Info Systems Pvt Ltd has now bigger challenges ahead – of not just expanding the scope of the Trade Show, but also of continuously facilitating the interaction between leaders & decision makers and the Indian Cleaning industry. Clean India Journal has always been taking those extra steps to bring the Indian Cleaning Industry to a higher level and also to highlight the need for adapting scientific cleaning practices.
As the Chief Minister of Delhi, Smt Dikshit has been encouraging the use of cleaning equipment for city cleaning and new technology for maintenance of hygiene and cleanliness in public places. In India, we seldom show eagerness to change. Anything which requires effort and realignment is received with resistance. We need mechanisation and newer approach to cleaning. Smt Dikshit is quite aware of the needs.
Are the Civic Departments participating in the show? It will be beneficial for all the departments concerned to visit the show and understand the latest cleaning technology available in India today. We need cleanliness and hygiene solutions for schools, hospitals and public places. What are the equipment on display for road cleaning? Would the road sweeper remove stubborn mounts of mud off the streets How does the microfibre wipe clean more effectively? How are the cleaning chemicals used? Are these made available? Can the industry provide mobile mosquito control systems?
These are some of the views/questions raised by the CM. Scientific washroom hygiene solutions attracted her attention, so also chemical dozing systems & dispensers and bins for waste management. She encouraged exhibitors to explain to her the features of their products/systems. The CM discussed at length with Clean India Journal about its role in taking the clean movement forward and bringing the cleaning industry and the Government closer. “I am open to more interactions to understand various technologies the industry can provide,” she said. She appreciated the fact that the cleaning industry is giving employment to a very large number of unskilled workers. At the same time, “It is very essential to train the existing municipal cleaning staff too.”
The deep understanding and interest shown by Smt Dikshit have set a new momentum to the “cleanliness and hygiene” movement and we are thankful to her. Also visiting the show over the three days were senior officials from different government organisations.
What more? Shri Kamal Nath, the hon’ble Minister for Road Transport and Highways, sent his officers to gather information on the latest cleaning technology and solutions. “I am happy you are organising shows on cleanliness and hygiene solutions. Apart from the mechanised cleaning of roads and highways, I am also interested to know about the cleaning technologies and usage of equipment in various areas. It is high time we give professional cleaning its due. I am going through the literature collected by my officers,” said the Minister to Clean India Journal. We also received a letter from Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad, hon’ble Minister of Health & Family Welfare, wishing the show all success.
The trend sure is positive; the scope is immense; the demand for mechanised and scientific cleaning solutions is on the rise. And the journey to create awareness about the need for cleaner environment continues…
…Charting
Cleaning Industry Growth
The awareness is certainly much pronounced as the visitors at the Clean India Show came from varied backgrounds – top officials from PWD, ministry, Ludhiana and Patna municipal corporations, railways, airport authority, schools, temples, catering colleges, hotel management institutes, FM & housekeeping companies, transport, IT industry, malls, pharma companies, hospitals, hotels, infrastructure… and also housewives. Most of them were aware of what they required and were looking for solutions, while many others found the Clean India Show “amazing” and most wanted.
The seventh edition of the Clean India Show, being held for the second time in Delhi, is the most important cleaning trade show in the Asia-Pacific region. The entire cleaning industry stood together on this one platform at the NSIC Complex to introduce new technology and equipment to the country and also build business tie-ups. For the first time, an exhibition of such a scale has been organised under a specially erected German structure. The 40-metre clear span aluminium marquee was covered with weather-proof fire-retardant fabric on all sides and on the roof.
Some of the new, innovative and interesting products showcased drew a lot of attention. At a time when researchers are still finding ways to eradicate the intelligent mosquito from the planet, imagine a machine attracting mosquitoes within the vicinity of an acre of land! The killer machine woos primarily female mosquitoes by emitting as much CO2 as eight human beings standing at one place and killing up to 15,000 mosquitoes in one night. The ‘killer’ stall at the Show attracted scores of visitors keen to get a live demo of this NASA-assisted technology. Invented in Mississippi, USA, the “mosquito killing system” was launched in the US way back in 1999 but for the lack of a good technology partner, it was launched in India only in July 2010. And yes, it is safe around children and pets too.
Talking of innovations and inventions, “wash balls” drew a lot of interest. It’s just about tossing a ball into the washing system to suck up the dirt. Well, doing laundry is more fun and an interesting exercise with the launch of the washing and sterilisation ball at the Show. Weighing 170g, the ball can be put inside the washing machine for a laundry of up to 5kg. This eco friendly ball cleans up all the dirt, including oil stains keeping the colour of the linen intact! The wash ball added to the delight of the laundry managers of the various hotels visiting the Show.
A housewife is a laundry manager too. Ajeet Kaur, a 55-year-old housewife, said, “I was interested in knowing about environment friendly cleaning products. I found the eco friendly wash ball very interesting and useful.” Interestingly on the second day of the Show, “pan” stains on the carpet laid on the aisle looked an ugly spot. Quickly, Supervisor Soni of Walsons Integrated Solutions (a division of Walsons HR Solutions Pvt. Ltd), who were managing the housekeeping services at the Show, brought some magic powder from one of the stalls and rubbed it on the stain. After a standing time of a few minutes a quick vacuuming and the stain vanished! Many stood by to watch the magic show of the eco-friendly carpet cleaning solution. Actually there is no need to shampoo a carpet and wait for it to dry, the eco-friendly magic powder does it all.
When it comes to taking up eco-friendly practices in cleaning, green chemicals are the need of the day. The range of green cleaning agents on display at the Clean India Show raised the curiosity of the people right from the chief minister to the CME of the Northern Railways who especially took time out to visit the show and select cleaning products to suit their requirement.
“This is one of its kind Trade Shows and very useful. We have seen a range of machines for cleaning platforms and sheds. The Show has been organised very well,” said KD Mainrai, CME, Northern Railway, who had come along with his team.
Of particular interest was the high powered, simple to operate vacuum cleaner which had a big mouth hose to gobble up everything that comes its way. Be it a pet water bottle or a paper cup, it could suck up all. It’s ideal for track cleaning. One of the largest cleaning shows of Asia-Pacific regions, the quality visitors stood by each stall to know the applications of over 150 national and international brands of cleaning products.
“The Show gave us an insight into the cleaning culture and the cleaning business here. The shortage and issues of skilled manpower are being experienced in Singapore too. However, unlike in India, the Singapore government pushes for the janitors’ welfare,” said Susan Lee, Manager, Training & Development, Ramky Cleantech Services Pte Ltd, Singapore.
Most of the facilities, whether hospital or an IT company, have engaged in house staff for maintenance and also outsourced cleaning services to housekeeping companies. “With patients health and hospital cleanliness being the main focus, we are always looking for new methods of cleaning. Maintenance of floors or keeping washrooms clean are equally challenging in a hospital. We are here to know about the latest techniques of cleaning,” said Dinesh Kumar, Housekeeping supervisor, Narinder Mohan Hospital, Ghaziabad.
