New Delhi: Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Saturday (June 22) kicked off the ‘Shramdaan’, activities involving measures to conserve water, in Rajasthan‘s Jodhpur, a statement said. The minister also launched the Swachh Bharat Summer Internship (SBSI)-2019 in the state. To promote water conservation across the country ahead of the monsoon season, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had written to village sarpanches, urging them to undertake rainwater harvesting and water conservation activities. Gram sabhas were convened across the country on Saturday and the prime minister’s letter was read out publicly to villagers.
The sitting of the gram sabhas was followed by the Shramdaan. Activities included building and cleaning of small ponds for storing rainwater, tree plantation drives, constructing, installing storage tanks for rainwater harvesting and afforestation. The Ministry of Jal Shakti, in association with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, and the National Cadet Corps (NCC) had launched the Swachh Bharat Summer Internship 2019, a 50-hour swachhata commitment by the youth, from June 10 to 31.
Addressed the Launching Programme of “Swachh Bharat Summer Internship” in Jodhpur today… pic.twitter.com/4yoivH9jOW
— Gajendra Singh Shekhawat (@gssjodhpur) June 22, 2019
Also Read: Government Sets Target Of Providing Clean Drinking Water To All By 2024
The initiative will give an opportunity to the youth from the National Service Scheme (NSS), Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) and the NCC to develop their skills and orientation for sanitation-related work and become a part of the Swachh Bharat Mission.
The internship has been taken up for the second consecutive year as part of the Swachh Bharat Mission. The minister urged youngsters to focus their energy through this internship on solid waste management and village cleanliness to make the country cleaner and greener.
Also Read: Defying The Impossible, 78-Year-Old Plants 50,000 Trees In Rajasthan’s Barren Desert
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.
