Fortnight-Long Swachhata Hi Seva Programme Launched

New Delhi: A fortnight-long cleanliness campaign was launched on Friday (September 15) with the aim to mobilise the participation of people across the country through various activities such as Indian Swachhata League 2.0 and SafaiMitra Suraksha Shivir, according to an official statement. The “Swachhata Hi Seva” programme was launched by Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri and Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Giriraj Singh.

Minister Puri said the upcoming ninth anniversary of the Swachh Bharat Mission and the launch of Swachhata Hi Seva 2023 is a moment of celebration, according to the statement issued by the Union housing and urban affairs ministry. The minister said,

It is a time to reaffirm ourselves to the cause of keeping our cities clean. With the launch of the Swachhata Hi Seva fortnight, we re-dedicate ourselves to the cause of Swachhata.

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He said that when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the SBM from the ramparts of the Red Fort on August 15, 2014, such a large-scale transformation had never been imagined before.

Despite a poor performance on sanitation till then, India achieved the target of Open Defecation Free (ODF) in the next five years. All 4,884 urban local bodies (100 per cent) in India are now Open Defecation Free (ODF), he added.

According to the statement, Minister Puri said that by building 73.62 lakh toilets — 67.1 lakh individual household toilets and 6.52 lakh community and public toilets — we have provided dignity and health to millions of urban poor. He added,

Ninety-five per cent wards in India have 100 per cent door-to-door collection of waste. More than 88 per cent of the wards have source segregation of waste. This was possible because the Swachh Bharat Mission evolved to become a ‘Jan Andolan’ instead of a typical sarkari programme.

The minister emphasised that “swachhata”, or cleanliness, has become a foundational tenet in not just every government scheme but also in the way of life of citizens.

Also Read: Swachh Bharat Mission: Uttar Pradesh To Conduct Self-Assessment To Become ‘Garbage Free’

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. 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 – theLGBTQ population,indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the currentCOVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water,SanitationandHygiene) 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, fightmalnutrition, mental wellbeing, 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 likeair pollution,waste management,plastic ban,manual scavengingand sanitation workers andmenstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India wheretoiletsare used andopen defecation free (ODF)status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched byPrime Minister Narendra Modiin 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.