PM Modi felicitates Safai Karmacharis working at Kumbh

Speed Post News Network

New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 24, 2019, honoured and paid respect to the safai karamcharis working at the Kumbh Mela by washing the feet of five of them. He washed and wiped their feet in a private interaction. He also had a brief conversation with them before joining the main event.

The gesture was a part of the ”Swachh Kumbh, Swachh Aabhaar” programme, where the Prime Minister addressed a gathering of 10,000 safai karamcharis, swachhagrahis, police personnel and naviks of the Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj. The gathering was organised by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation in association with the Government of Uttar Pradesh (GoUP).

The event was aimed at honouring the contribution of about 18,000 Safai Karamcharis who have been deployed at the Mela to ensure cleanliness of toilets and general cleanliness. Fifteen Hundred Swachhagrahis have also been deployed at the Kumbh for monitoring and reporting of toilet conditions, toilet usage and other cleanliness status. Speaking about the cleanliness standards of the Kumbh, the Prime Minister said that over one lakh public toilets and 20,000 dustbins have been installed at the Kumbh Mela area, besides other sanitation facilities and care.

The Prime Minister emphasized that given the efforts of the safai karamcharis and swachhagrahis, sanitation in India has garnered global appreciation. The Prime Minister highlighted how Kumbh 2019 has been implemented as a “Digital Kumbh”.

To honour the tremendous work being done by the Safai Karamchaaris and Swachhagrahis, the Prime Minister also announced a package of benefits, the “Swachh Seva Sammaan”, which focused on health, education and economic security of all eligible safai karamcharis who worked at the Kumbh this year. The package is rolled out using a corpus of Rs 51 crore, named the Swachh Kumbh Kosh, set up under the Kumbh Mela Pradhikaran using CSR support from central public sector units, according to a PIB release.