SBM (Grameen) launches ‘Darwaza Band-Part 2’ in presence of Amitabh Bachchan

Speed Post News Network

New Delhi : The Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM)  Grameen on February 6, 2019, launched the ‘Darwaza Band -Part 2’ campaign which focuses on sustaining the open defecation free status of villages across the country. The campaign, produced by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, was launched in Mumbai in the presence of top actor Amitabh Bachchan, Maharashtra’s Minister for Water Supply and Sanitation Babanrao Lonikar, Secretary, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Parameswaran Iyer and other dignitaries and representatives of the Mission’s development partners. The event was also attended by the Zila Parishad members from Maharashtra.

The ‘Darwaza Band- Part 2’ campaign has been supported by the World Bank and is being rolled out countrywide immediately after the launch. Speaking at the event, Amitabh Bachchan gave a brief background of the development of the campaign and mentioned that it talks about how a toilet must be used by all, always and under all circumstances (har koi, har roz, hamesha). He also congratulated the Swachh Bharat Mission for the transformational role it has played in ridding the country of filth and open defecation. He also dedicated a re-adaptation of a poem of his father Late Harivansh Rai Bachchan to the Swachh Bharat Mission – “Swachh Tann, Swachh Mann, Swachh Bharat, Mera Parichay”.

Lonikar spoke about the achievement of ODF status in Maharashtra being a tribute to the State’s commitment to the Prime Minister’s flagship programme. He said that the Centre and State together had spent over Rs 6,000 crore on sanitation in Maharashtra and over three crore people have stopped defecating in the open in the state. He further said that all attempts have been made by the state to make this into a true Jan Andolan and reaffirmed Maharashtra’s commitment to sustaining the gains achieved in the past four years.

Speaking at the launch, Secretary, MDWS, Iyer said that over 50 crore people had stopped defecating in the open since the launch of the SBM and with over 5.5 lakh villages having already been declared Open Defecation Free (ODF), the national sanitation coverage is now in excess of 98% compared to 39% in 2014. He said that the  primary focus of the programme is on behaviour change and promoting sustainable usage of toilets, at both community and village levels. He thanked Amitabh  Bachchan for his continued support to the Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen, including during the first phase of the Darwaza Band campaign, and said that the Darwaza Band- Part 2 focuses on ensuring that people’s behavior is changed for good and everyone always uses a toilet, according to a PIB release.

Hisham Abdo Kahin, Manager, Operations, New Delhi Office, World Bank, said that India’s commitment and progress on improving sanitation was unprecedented in the World and India had achieved in five years what many of the  much smaller countries took over 40 years to achieve. Three “Darwaza Band Part 2” films were launched by Amitabh Bachchan.