Nationwide Cleanliness Drive To Be Conducted On October 1: Ministry Of Housing And Urban Affairs

New Delhi: A nationwide cleanliness drive will be conducted on October 1 responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal for “one hour of shramdaan for swachhata”, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs said on Sunday (September 24). In a statement, the ministry said that in the run up to Gandhi Jayanti, a unique call has been given by the prime minister to fellow citizens. In the 105th episode of ‘Mann Ki Baat’, the prime minister appealed for “one hour of shramdaan for swachhata” at 10 am on October 1 by all citizens collectively, and it will be a ‘swachhanjali’ to Mahatma Gandhi on the eve of his jayanti, it said.

Also Read: Indian Swachhata League Kicks Off With Over 4,000 City Teams Joining Cleanliness Crusade

The statement said,

This mega cleanliness drive calls upon citizens from all walks of life to join in actual cleaning activities of public places like market spaces, railway tracks, water bodies, tourist locations, religious places etc.

“Every town, gram panchayat, all sectors of the government like civil aviation, railways, information and technology etc, public institutions will be facilitating cleanliness events led by citizens,” it said.

It also said that NGOs, resident welfare associations and private organisations interested in organising cleanliness events can also apply online on the portals of urban local bodies or district administrations.

The ministry said that this mega cleanliness drive is part of the “Swachhata Pakhwada- Swachhata Hi Seva-2023”, being observed from September 15 till October 2.

Also Read: ‘Mera Vidyalaya-Swachh Vidyalaya’ Campaign To Run Across Uttar Pradesh Till Gandhi Jayanti

(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 – the LGBTQ 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 current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) 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, fight malnutrition, 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 like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF)status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.