NEW DELHI: On World Toilet Day as India joined the world to mark this day to draw attention on the global sanitation crisis, Amitabh Bachchan who has been an active and vocal supporter of the Swachh India campaign reaffirmed his commitment to the cause and urged people to ensure that the momentum of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is sustained. In a video message on the occasion of World Toilet Day posted by the Swachh Bharat social media handle, Mr Bachchan asserted that seldom has a government scheme reached the scale and magnitude of success as the Swachh Bharat Mission. He said,
Looking the stupendous success of Swachh Bharat, it is quite clear that it is not just a government scheme. Government may be managing the programme, but it is truly a jan andolan (people’s movement).
Calling himself as Swachhta worker, he urged people to continue backing this campaign and taking it further. He asked people to ensure that apart from constructing toilets, everyone should ensure that their family members are using the toilets regularly and keep it clean and pay attention to its maintenance. Mr Bachchan goes on to say,
Ensure that the toilet that you construct in your house is a twin-pit toilet. In case the toilet in your house has only one pit, then please do convert it into a twin pit toilet. It is absolutely must.
A twin pit toilet is constructed by creating two pit holes around the toilet, one of which stays functional while the other is closed until the pit in operation is filled to capacity with human waste. The filled pit is then closed for composting, and the second pit is put to use. The waste collected in pit one is then converted into bio-fertiliser through composting.
Watch: Amitabh Bachchan’s Message On World Toilet Day
विश्व शौचालय दिवस के अवसर पर श्री @SrBachchan का देश के नागरिकों के लिए स्वच्छता संदेश। बने इस जन आंदोलन का हिस्सा और देश को स्वच्छता की ओर करें अग्रसर। #WorldToiletDay #SustainingSwachhBharat pic.twitter.com/dhFLaPZjSX
— Swachh Bharat I #AzadiKaAmritMahotsav (@swachhbharat) November 19, 2018
How India Celebrated World Toilet Day
With 96 per cent of sanitation coverage today from mere 38 per cent back in 2014 and construction of nearly 9 crore toilets in four years, India celebrated these achievements in the sanitation field on the occasion of World Toilet Day on November 19. Since the launch of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, more than 5 lakh villages, 530 districts, 25 states and Union Territories have achieved the open defecation free (ODF) status. This year, the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MoDW&S) decided to celebrate November 19 as “Swachh Bharat World Toilet Day ” and started a special ‘World Toilet Day Contest’ from November 9 to November 19, wherein all districts and states in India were asked to conduct various sanitation related activities so that individuals can be motivated to do their best in achieving country’s open defecation free targets by October 2, 2019 and to achieve ODF sustainability in the areas that have successfully achieved the ODF status.
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.
