New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath promised that Kumbh Mela, in Prayagraj (Allahabad), Uttar Pradesh, this year will be both divine and grand. “Kumbh will make history by being titled as India’s cleanest Kumbh Mela, the theme ‘Swachh Kumbh, Surakshit Kumbh’ (Clean Kumbh, Secure Kumbh) is appropriate enough, to send a swachh message to the world.” To live up to its swachh theme, authorities at Kumbh Mela have tried out different things – a unique ‘toilet cafeteria’, swachh raths and plastic bottle dispensing machine that are subtly educating the pilgrims and tourists about the importance of cleanliness, sanitation and waste management, all which are part of Swachh Bharat Mission.
The toilet cafeteria has commode-style chairs with messages like “Trip to toilet will save trip to doctor”, “Don’t forget to wash hands after a toilet visit”.
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Make way for Toilet Cafeteria at Kumbh Mela 2019!
Spreading the swachh message in a unique way – ‘Don’t let dirty water stagnate’, says one of the messages in toilet cafeteria at Kumbh
The Toilet Cafeteria is also showcasing different models of toilets that are being used in rural areas of India
On the other hand, the Swachh Raths (cleanliness chariots), special trucks adorning Swachh Kumbh slogans make rounds of the Kumbh grounds in order to educate people on the dos and don’ts of keeping the territory of the mela clean this year. From spreading messages on why people should say no to open defecation, why they should keep toilet facilities clean, not litter the ghats and refuse the use of plastics, the ‘Swachh Rath’ aims to educate pilgrims and tourists on ensuring a hygienic Kumbh this year.
Along with a toilet cafeteria, swachh raths, there are also plastic bottle dispensing machines, wherein, pilgrims and tourists can deposit plastic bottles instead of throwing it into the dustbins or ghats. The dispensing machine will help in effectively managing plastic waste and encourage people to deposit plastic bottles in those machines through a unique scheme – deposit three bottles and get a cup of tea free.
Apart from these unique steps, the authorities have also installed over 1.2 lakh (1, 22,500) eco-friendly toilet facilities for the convenience of the pilgrims and tourists at Prayagraj and have deployed 1,500 Swachhagrahis (Cleanliness Volunteers) to monitor all the public facilities and accommodations, so that Kumbh 2019 can highlight the current Clean India movement.
The 55-day Ardh Kumbh Mela is the largest human congregation in the world, with over 130 million pilgrims expected to participate in the festival this year. It was started on the auspicious occasion of ‘Makar Sankranti’ on January 15 and will end on March 4.
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.
