Swachh Ambassador: Suresh Raina Is Ghaziabad’s Cleanliness Ambassador

Suresh Raina becomes the latest celebrity to embrace the Swachh cause as the Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation (GMC) on October 29, appointed him ambassador for their cleanliness initiatives. Suresh Raina’s association with the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is not new, as the cricketer has been one of the known faces associated with the cleanliness mission. He was nominated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November 2014 as one of Uttar Pradesh’s well-known figures to be a Swachh Bharat ambassador. More recently, in July 2017, Raina launched the Swachh Shauchalaya campaign which propagated the maintenance of cleanliness in public toilets in Delhi.

The Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation awarded the cricketer with a certificate during the event on October 30, certifying his status as the civic body’s brand ambassador. Speaking at the event, the flamboyant cricketer congratulated the civic body officials for all their efforts towards keeping Ghaziabad clean. Mr Raina, whose family hails from Ghaziabad, said he was confident that the combined efforts of the municipal corporation and the residents will result in a cleaner Ghaziabad.

Ghaziabad, which ranked a low 352 out of 434 cities surveyed under the Swachh Survekshan 2017 is working hard to better its cleanliness status among Uttar Pradesh’s cities. The corporation recently launched a number of light and heavy vehicles to assist door-to-door waste collection in the city. The GMC has also been instrumental in night sweeping in 20 of the city’s busiest markets.

The city had ranked poorly in the previous Swachh Survekshan rankings but is adamant to fare better this time. Cleanliness initiatives this year are better organised and the progress is visible on the ground, said Vinod Kumar Jindal, Joint Secretary, Swachh Bharat Mission Urban.

Though Ghaziabad was one of the 1,800 urban local bodies which has been declared open defecation free (ODF), much work remained to be done on the waste management, segregation and overall awareness front. GMC officials present at the event said that Ambassador Raina will play an active part in campaigns, awareness rallies and other cleanliness initiatives conducted in the city. GMC Commissioner CP Singh who was present at the event said that the cricketer’s active involvement in making Ghaziabad a cleaner city will inevitably help it achieve an improved ranking in Swachh Survekshan 2018.

Also Read: Suresh Raina Bats For Clean India Mission, Launches Swachh Shauchalaya Campaign