Mumbai: “My dear countrymen, Swachh Bharat Mission or Clean India Mission has become a success story not only in our country but in the whole world and everyone is talking about this movement,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his monthly radio show Mann Ki Baat on September 30. The global recognition can be seen in the fact that India is hosting world’s biggest ever convention on sanitation this year to mark Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary, he said. In the 4-day convention, which will conclude on October 2, sanitation ministers and experts from around the world are sharing their experiments and experiences.
“This time India is hosting the biggest Sanitation Convention of the world so far, the Mahatma Gandhi International Sanitation Convention. Sanitation Ministers from countries across the world and experts on the subject of sanitation will converge and share their experiments and experiences. Mahatma Gandhi International Sanitation Convention will conclude on 2nd October, 2018 with the commencement of Bapu’s 150th Birth Anniversary celebrations,” the Prime Minister said.
Ahead of Gandhi Jayanti and the fourth anniversary of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Prime Minister Modi spoke about the ‘Swachhata Hi Seva’ movement that was launched on September 15 across the country with an aim to engage people from different walks of life in cleanliness-related activities. He said crores of people contributed towards swachhta and that he was fortunate enough to have got the chance to do the same.
“A movement “Swachhata Hi Seva” was launched on the 15th of September. Crores of people got connected with this movement and luckily, I also got a chance to participate in the voluntary cleanliness shramdaan with the children of Delhi’s Ambedkar School. Institutions extended their contribution enthusiastically. School children, college students, NCC, NSS, youth organisations, media groups, the corporate world, all of them offered voluntary cleanliness service on a large scale. I heartily congratulate all these cleanliness-loving countrymen for their efforts,” he said.
To hear what the citizens have to say about the cleanliness mission, the Prime Minister spoke to a visually challenged resident from Rajasthan’s Bikaner district. The man lauded Swachh Bharat for providing him a toilet. He narrated how difficult it was for him to defecate in the open and now with a toilet in his home, hygiene and sanitation has become an integral part for him and his family.
Thanking the man in return, Prime Minister Modi said, “You’ve made a significant remark that cleanliness has a specific meaning in every one’s life and what could be a matter of immense joy for all of us than the fact that a toilet has been built in your house under the “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan” and that all of you have the facility now. And possibly those connected with this movement may not be able to guess that you cannot see because of your visual challenge. But one understands the difficulties you were facing when there was no toilet and that the construction of this toilet has really proved to be a big boon for you. If you had not made a call about this aspect, perhaps those connected with this cleanliness movement might have also not thought about such a sensitive issue. I specially thank you for your phone call.”
Noting that Mahatma Gandhi was concerned about the environment, the Prime Minister said that inspired by him, the country needs to work for a cleaner and greener tomorrow.
“In the last four years we have covered significant ground in the Swachh Bharat Mission, but we must continue to do more,” he concluded.
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.
