New Delhi: Following the footsteps of India’s ongoing Swachh Bharat Abhiyan which was launched in 2014, China’s president has ordered the country to march on in its “toilet revolution” and asked officials to improve toilet facilities across the country, especially rural areas. The step has been taken in a bid to improve quality of life and boost tourism. President Xi Jinping was quoted in the state-run Xinhua news agency, saying, “The construction of clean toilets is an important part of pushing urban and rural civilisation, and more efforts should be made in both cities and rural areas to upgrade toilets.”
The “toilet revolution” was first started in 2015, that time President Xi asked authorities to build better toilets at tourist sites. Now, taking a cue from India’s biggest movement Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, President Xi wants the “revolution” to reach rural areas. President Xi adds,
The toilet issue is no small thing; it’s an important aspect of building civilised cities and countryside.
By the end of October this year, China had constructed or upgraded around 68,000 toilets at tourist destinations, 19.3 percent more than the target.
Along with toilet revolution, China should construct better public facilities and services to boost the tourism industry, President Xi added.
President Xi has long stressed on the importance of the toilet revolution in enhancing the quality of the tourism industry. According to the report, officials have been urged to make consistent efforts and take tailored measures to tackle long-standing issues and correct bad habits in tourism.
The country is expected to add or upgrade more than 70,000 toilets by the end of this year and another 64,000 will be built or enhanced between 2018 and 2020.
In neighbouring India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has constructed over 5 crore toilets and the sanitation coverage has been improved from mere 38 per cent in 2014 to 71 per cent now. The target for the country is to build more than 11 crore toilets and eradicate the practice of open defecation from every village, district and city.
