New Delhi: Responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to take up cleaning of temples and other places of worship across the country ahead of the opening of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, several ministers conducted Swachhata Abhiyan in multiple religious places. In Telangana, Union Minister and G Kishan Reddy on Wednesday (January 17), participated in a cleanliness drive at Sri Kanaka Durga Sri Nagalaxmi temple at Basheer Bagh, Hyderabad. He appealed to people to take part in ‘Swachh Abhiyan’ at different temples ahead of Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha. Minister Reddy said,
I appeal to people to take part in ‘Swachh Abhiyan’ at different temples ahead of Ram temple inauguration. I also urge people to light ‘Ram jyoti’ and take part in other programs.
In Tamil Nadu, Governor RN Ravi and his wife Lakshmi on Tuesday (January 16), cleaned the premises of Ramanathaswamy temple in Rameswaram. Before picking up the broom and mop, Governor Ravi and his wife were also pictured offering prayers at the Ramanathaswamy temple.
Also Read: Cleanliness Drive: Ministers Take Swachhata Abhiyan To Religious Places
Earlier in the day, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha participated in a cleanliness drive across different temples in his constituency, Bordowali. The Tripura CM was pictured cleaning the surrounding area of a temple with a broom.
In response to the call of Hon'ble PM Shri @narendramodi Ji, along with the Karyakartas today participated in Swachata campaign at Shiv-Kali Temple of Ker Chowmuhani & Sani Temple of Ramnagar Road No- 1 in Agartala this morning.#SwachhTeerth pic.twitter.com/JKSu6zHsJ6
— Prof.(Dr.) Manik Saha (@DrManikSaha2) January 16, 2024
Speaking to media persons on Tuesday, CM Saha said,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called on fellow citizens to take up cleanliness drives at temples and other places of worship across the country ahead of the inauguration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on January 22. We took up the drive on January 14 and this is the third day. There are festive vibes around the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony and everyone seems to be exuding positive energy. All our leaders and cadre across the country are participating enthusiastically in the cleanliness campaign. We are all coming together to clean our temples. Such campaigns are being organised in every constituency of the state.
Union Minister Anurag Thakur cleaned the premises of the Hanuman Temple at Connaught Place (CP) in the national capital, in response to PM Modi’s call.
श्रमदान, ताकि स्वच्छ रहें हमारे तीर्थ..
दिल्ली में मंदिर मार्ग स्थित प्रसिद्ध बाल्मीकि मंदिर में भाजपा दिल्ली के प्रदेश अध्यक्ष श्री @Virend_Sachdeva जी के साथ मंदिर परिसर की साफ़ सफ़ाई में अपना श्रमदान करने व भगवान बाल्मीकि की आराधना का सुअवसर मिला। आदरणीय प्रधानमंत्री श्री… pic.twitter.com/rYmPeBV6jB
— Anurag Thakur (@ianuragthakur) January 17, 2024
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also picked up the broom and swept the floor at Lucknow’s Hanuman Temple. The Defence Minister said,
“Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has called upon all the countrymen to contribute towards cleanliness in the temples around them. Today, I went to Hanuman Setu temple in Lucknow and did Shramdaan under #SwachhTeerth campaign and got the privilege of serving Hanumanji.”
हनुमान तेहि परसा कर पुनि कीन्ह प्रनाम, ⁰राम काजु कीन्हें बिनु मोहि कहाँ बिश्राम।
प्रधानमंत्री श्री @narendramodi ने समस्त देशवासियों से आह्वान किया है कि सभी लोग अपने आस पास के मंदिरों में स्वच्छता के लिए श्रमदान करें।
आज लखनऊ में हनुमान सेतु मंदिर में जाकर, #SwachhTeerth… pic.twitter.com/ePaBCU7R6I
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) January 16, 2024
Himachal Pradesh Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla also launched a cleanliness campaign on Tuesday, at the Hanuman temple in Jakhu here as part of the ‘Swachh Teerth Abhiyan’. The Governor, who was accompanied by his wife Janaki, urged people to participate in the campaign and keep the temple clean.
स्वच्छ तीर्थ अभियान’ के तहत राज्यपाल श्री शिव प्रताप शुक्ल ने आज शिमला के जाखू स्थित विख्यात धार्मिक स्थल श्री हनुमान जी मंदिर परिसर में सफाई अभियान चलाया। इस अवसर पर, लेडी गवर्नर श्रीमती जानकी शुक्ल ने भी सफाई अभियान में हिस्सा लिया।
1/3 pic.twitter.com/GerxrQSUBc
— Raj Bhavan, Himachal Pradesh (@RajBhavanHP) January 16, 2024
Earlier in the weekend, on Sunday, BJP national president JP Nadda launched a nationwide cleanliness drive. The drive, which will majorly involve the cleansing of temples, will continue till the opening of the Ram Mandir on January 22.
The Prime Minister set the tone earlier, on Friday, as he was seen wielding the broom on the premises of the Kalaram Temple in Maharashtra’s Nashik as part of a Swachchata Abhiyan (cleanliness campaign) ahead of the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony in Ayodhya.
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which in its Season 10 is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Ayushmann Khurrana. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In a world post COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental well-being, self-care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
