Meet 5 Warriors Who Successfully Fought A ‘Swachh’ Battle

105-year-old Kanwar Bai had never seen a toilet for an entire century. Today she is at the forefront of the movement to make her village in Chhattisgarh 'Open Defecation Free' and has also been given the title of 'Swachh Abhiyan Mascot.'

Electrical engineers, Ashish Kalawar and his wife Ruta Kalawar gave up their jobs in the UK and adopted a remote village in Maharashtra named Lonwadi to bring about a change in the living conditions of the villagers. The Swachh warriors targeted multiple issues like clean water supply, ending open defecation and raising health awareness in the village.

With the motto, 'One Toilet At A Time,' an American PhD student, Marta Vanduzer-Snow has been working towards building toilets in rural areas of North India. So far she has successfully constructed 100 low-cost evapotranspiration toilets which cost less than the government toilets.

IITian Pankaj Mall embarked upon a 'Swachhta' journey from Kargil to Kanyakumari to educate people about the hazardous effects of defecating in the open. In a span of 60 days, this 'Swachh Warrior' built 17 temporary toilets for women and dedicated an entire day to cleaning River Narmada in Jabalpur.

Former banker Shilpika Gautam believes that Awareness, Education and Implementation' are the three most important components of Swachhta as she set a world record for paddling across River Ganges. Focusing on issues like water pollution, open defecation, and menstrual hygiene, she and her teammates educated villagers residing along the river banks.