Prime Minister Narendra Modi Lauds NDTV’s Banega Swachh India Campaign

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today praised the NDTV-Dettol Banega Swachh India 12-hour cleanathon hosted to spread awareness on various aspects of government’s Swachh Bharat Mission. With Amitabh Bachchan as the Campaign Ambassador, the campaign in its fifth season, with the focus on SWACHH (Sanitation, Wash, Air pollution, Cleanliness, Health and Hygiene). The annual Banega Swachh India Cleanathon has worked relentlessly for five years to help build toilets in rural areas, conduct clean-up drives and spread awareness about sanitation, health and hygiene across India.

Lauding the efforts of the campaign, Prime Minister said, “I congratulate team NDTV for their notable efforts to further awareness on Swachhata. They have brought people from all walks of life on their platform to further discussions on ways to make India cleaner.”

This is not the first time Prime Minister has praised the swachh efforts of the campaign. Last year also, Prime Minister took it to social media and said, “I laud @DettolIndia & @ndtv for the initiative. This timeline has many inspiring efforts on cleanliness. #Cleanathon https://twitter.com/swachhindia”

All About The 12-Hour Swachh India Cleanathon

At 9 in the morning, with clean, green and healthy India as the agenda of this year, Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan kick started the 12-hour cleanathon and urged everyone to turn the dream of Clean India-Healthy India into a reality. He even initiated a ‘Plant a tree’ challenge under which he asked individuals to plant a tree, give it a name, talk to it, nurture it, and share a photo or video with Mr Bachchan which he will share on his social media.

From National Security Guard planting 20,000 trees in Manesar in Gurugram, trainee soldiers cleaning the streets of Hyderabad to voluneers cleaning up underpass in Bengaluru, various cleanup and plantation drives were organised across India, as part of the cleanathon.

In Pics: #SwachhIndia Cleanathon: Clean-Up Activities Across India

Apart from the cleanup drives at various locations, many Chief Ministers, celebrities, and well-know personalities joined the Cleanathon through the day. While Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das and Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry Kiran Bedi declared the state and Union Territory open defecation free, Chief Miniser of Punjab, Captain Amarinder Singh talked about the problem of stubble burning in Punjab, which is one of the major reasons behind air pollution in Delhi.

Actor and politician Jaya Bachchan raised the issue of lack of space to plant trees and the unlawful act of manual scavenging. Actor Parineeti Chopra along with Arjun Kapoor discussed the issue of plastic pollution and how it is destroying our water bodies and taking the life of thousands of fishes.

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan Status

In the year 2014, when Prime Minister launched the campaign, rural sanitation coverage was just 38.70 per cent, but today as Swachh Bharat Abhiyan turns four, the rural sanitation coverage stands at 94.62 per cent. The aim of the nationwide cleanliness campaign is to make India open defecation free by October 2, 2019.

Also Read: Four Years Of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan: With Over 9 Crore Toilets, India Inches Towards Becoming ODF

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.