Chennai Port Concludes Swachhata Pakhwada 2026 Campaign

Chennai:

Port Wings News Network:

The Chennai Port Authority successfully concluded its Swachhata Pakhwada 2026 campaign, marked by a comprehensive series of port-wide sanitation drives, youth engagement programs, and frontline worker welfare initiatives.

Through these targeted interventions, the Port transformed it’s industrial, commercial, and residential zones into hygienic space and elevated operational well-being across the entire maritime ecosystem.

The 2026 campaign commenced with an organization-wide Swachhata Pledge, led by Sachin S. Kurve, IAS, Chairperson, Chennai Port Authority, alongside the Chief Vigilance Officer, HoDs, senior officers, employees and students of the Port.

As a prelude to the action-oriented campaign, the officials and employees formally vowed to uphold the core values of environmental cleanliness, waste reduction, and sustainable maritime operations.

In alignment with the national Swachhata Hi Seva (SHS) 2026 framework, over 1000 employees participated throughout the two-week campaign, intensive sanitization drives completely refreshed the main Port premises, administrative offices, Fire Service Station, West Quay, Container Terminal Service Gate, Pipeline Division, Port Guest House, Chennai Port Authority Hospital, and the Passenger Cruise Terminal. Creative endeavours like Nukkad Natak and Waste to Wealth competitions were held to inculcate innovation in Swachhata.

Extending the campaign’s footprint to logistics operations, the Port organized an inclusive advocacy drive for freight lorry drivers. The drivers were thoroughly trained on the 4-Way Waste Segregation protocol under the Solid Waste Management Rules, ensuring that the values of systemic cleanliness, waste sorting, and environmental accountability were seamlessly instilled across all levels of the port ecosystem.

A core highlight of the fortnight was the organization with a dedicated single-window camp under the theme Safaimitra Suraksha Evam Samman Shivir, specifically curated for the port’s sanitation workers and Safaimitras.

This welfare camp provided immediate access to preventive healthcare check-ups, diagnostic services, and essential safety equipment distribution, ensuring robust occupational health security. By integrating formal recognition ceremonies alongside the institutional support desk, the Port Authority honoured the invaluable contributions of its frontline sanitation workforce, underscoring dignity of labour and reinforcing safety frameworks.

On the penultimate day of the campaign, over 150 employees of the Port Authority led by Sachin S. Kurve, IAS, Chairperson, and the Deputy Chairperson i/c engaged in a hands-on cleaning drive at Gate Zero of the Port.

Arranged under the national theme Ek Din Ek Ghanta Ek Saath, this high-visibility program successfully consolidated the efforts of the Port workforce, turning collective civic duty into a grand, resounding success.

Marking the momentous occasion of Gandhi Jayanti (Swachh Bharat Diwas), the Chennai Port Authority, led by Sachin S. Kurve, IAS, Chairperson, and the Deputy Chairperson i/c, alongwith the HoDs, officers and employees of the Port, paid floral tributes to the Mahatma.

Honouring his vision of a clean India, the tribute was immediately followed by a massive beach cleaning drive. Over 250 participants spent more than an hour clearing the shoreline and collecting plastic waste, reinforcing the Port Authority’s enduring commitment to coastal ecology and environmental preservation. This was followed by a closing recommitment to the Swachhata Pledge and a prize distribution ceremony for the employees.

Addressing the gathering, Sachin S. Kurve highlighted the importance of cleanliness and inculcating the values of Swachhata in daily life, encouraging the participants to contribute to the campaign by upholding the promises in the Swachhata Pledge.

The successful culmination of Swachhata Pakhwada 2026 reinforces the Chennai Port Authority’s commitment to integrate environmental sustainability with maritime excellence. By bridging industrial sanitation with community action and worker welfare, the Port has effectively transformed a civic directive into a long-term institutional habit.