#DarwazaBand 2.0: Amitabh Bachchan’s New #DarwazaBand Campaign Talks About How To Stay Open Defecation Free

New Delhi: ‘I am not a real hero, a real hero is someone who has fulfilled the promise of Swachh Bharat Mission and has got himself/herself a toilet at home,’ with this as the message, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan Ambassador and superstar Amitabh Bachchan launched the second part of Darwaza Band campaign in Mumbai. The first part of the campaign focused on bringing about behaviour change among men and women who have toilets but are not using these as they are habituated to defecate in the open. Taking the campaign forward, this time, the second part aims to focus on sustaining the open defecation free status of villages across the country.

Speaking at the event, Amitabh Bachchan said,

A toilet is a very important part of everyone’s life. It should be used by each one of us, always and under all circumstances.

Mr Bachchan also congratulated the Swachh Bharat Mission and the way this jan-andolan (People’s movement) has transformed India’s sanitation reality. He even dedicated a poem penned by his father Late Harivansh Rai Bachchan and re-versioned it with a Swachh Bharat Message – “Swachh Tann, Swachh Mann, Swachh Bharat, Mera Parichay”.

Sharing highlights of how the mission has successfully changed the fate of India’s sanitation, Secretary, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Parameswaran Iyer said,

Today, over 50 crore people have stopped defecating in the open since the launch of the Swachh Bharat Mission and over 5.5 lakh villages have been declared Open Defecation Free. Moreover, our national sanitation coverage has successfully moved to 98 per cent from a mere 38 per cent in 2014.

Also Read: Gabbar Is Back! This Time He’s Telling Basanti Not To Defecate In The Open

As a part of the Darwaza Band campaign, three films have been launched with the message that everyone should not just construct a toilet at home but now focus on using and maintaining it, as if people continue to use toilets only then can the ODF tag of villages and blocks be sustained.

Along with the films, in coming few weeks, there will be radio jingles, outdoor publicity and digital campaigns for Darwaza Band campaign, which is being supported by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation and World Bank.

Also Read: Amitabh Bachchan Blogs, ‘Do Just One Act Of Cleaning Up The Environment’

NDTV – Dettol Banega Swachh India campaign lends support to the Government of India’s Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). Helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan, the campaign aims to spread awareness about hygiene and sanitation, the importance of building toilets and making India open defecation free (ODF) by October 2019, a target set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when he launched Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in 2014. Over the years, the campaign has widened its scope to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and menstrual hygiene. The campaign has also focused extensively on marine pollution, clean Ganga Project and rejuvenation of Yamuna, two of India’s major river bodies.