Speed Post News Network
New Delhi : President Ram Nath Kovind on September 15, 2017, launched the nationwide jan aandolan, `Swachhta Hi Seva’, from Iswarigunj, a village in Kanpur district of Uttar Pradesh. With this, the whole country swings into mass Shramdaan for toilet making and cleaning of public places for next two weeks.
“Swachhta Hi Seva” Campaign is an unprecedented campaign to highlight, once again, the jan aandolan that is the Swachh Bharat Mission. The objective of the campaign is to mobilise people between September 15 and October2 , reigniting the “jan aandolan” for sanitation. Union Ministers, MLAs, MPs, iconic celebrities of India, sports stars, inter-faith leaders, corporates, etc. have been appealed to join in this campaign towards swachhta.
The President administered the nationwide “Swachhta Hi Seva” pledge in Kanpur, which simultaneously initiated parallel action in all Gram Panchayats and cities of the country. He honoured village level champions from Uttar Pradesh, who have contributed to making various villages including Iswarigunj open defecation free. The President also launched the Solid and Liquid Waste Management activities in the village which is the next major step in Swachhta after getting the villages Open Defecation Free, according to a PIB release.
President Kovind said that every citizen who works for Swachhta is a rashtr-nirmata (nation builder). He called upon all citizens to join the Swachhta Hi Seva movement and become a rashtra-nirmata. He congratulated all award winning Swachhta champions present and said that they were the real heroes of this jan aandolan. He quoted a World Bank study that says that lack of sanitation costs the country 6% of GDP annually adding that the weakest sections of society are the ones most affected by this problem. He spoke about diseases transmitted by open defecation, concerns around dignity and safety of women, and economic loss to the family, according to the PIB release.
In his address, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, welcomed the President back to his native village and said that Swachh Bharat, when it was first launched by the Prime Minister, had seemed like an impossible goal. He said, that Swachh Bharat is a critical component of the development of the country and reaffirmed his government’s commitment to achieve an Open Defecation Free (ODF) Uttar Pradesh by October 2018. He said that such an ambitious goal cannot be achieved without people’s participation and partnership. For this, he mentioned that he is reaching out to grassroots leaders and elected representatives personally to involve all sections of society in this movement. He announced that 30 districts will be declared ODF in UP by December 2017.
Union Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation, Uma Bharti, said that she felt great pride that the President’s first public appearance after taking office was for the launch of the Swachhta Hi Seva campaign. She spoke about the crucial role of public participation in making Swachh Bharat a reality.